THE CULTIVATOR. 
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19 
vnent, and ebscured by its inappropriate dress, yet remained strong¬ 
ly recommended by the purity of its doctrine. 
The whole order of society changed—the iron age of feudal vio¬ 
lence and misrule substituted for the greater misrule of enervating 
corruption and philosophic sensuality, a long night of literary 
darkness succeeded. Philanthrop sts struggling to revive learning 
and science, drew largely from the remnant of ancient treasures 
yet preserved. The efforts were great, and succe -s s'ow, until the 
discovery of the art of printing. Then indeed a new era in the his¬ 
tory of manking commenced.; the germ of ail the improvements 
■of the present and future ages, was then planted for infin te ex¬ 
pansion. The few centuries since elapsed, have witnessed and pre¬ 
sent at this day, a more perfect revolution in tlie situation of tlie 
human race, botli in science and the political equalization of man, 
than was produced from the creation to that time. The art of 
printing is universally acknowledged as the prominent cause of 
this change. 
The diffusion of informaton, brought into active use a greater 
variety of human intellect; and rapid improvement in all branches 
of science was the consequence: yet this improvement, guarded 
fey the vigilance of power and clerical apprehension, was restricted 
fey almost universal consent, to particular and privileged classes 
only. Thus the entire course of education has been so regulated 
as to require ail abandonment of all active physical employment, 
except for recreation and exercise, founded on what has been erro¬ 
neously deemed an axiom, “ that scientific pursuits and useful labor 
are incompatible.’” Tlie weapons of satire and ridicule have been 
unsparingly directed against all attempts to break in upon the ex¬ 
clusiveness of the circle to which these advantages were confined. 
In the order of nature, the intellectual gifts of providence have 
been diffused without regard to artificial distinctions, and frequent 
lashings from the pungent pens of highly gifted plebeians, ultimate¬ 
ly changed the relation of parties. The liberal and benevolent 
wealthy became the patrons of genius; ambition followed and 
used the talent it respected and feared, for its own purposes. Al¬ 
though this venal relation was unfavorable to the free use of men¬ 
tal powers, yet intellectual proximity and more frequently acknow¬ 
ledged superiority broke down the barrier, and diminished the dis¬ 
tance between the lord and serf, the master and the slave. Reser¬ 
ved however for the few who exhibited early indications of superior 
minds, and who were happily so placed as to attract favorable at¬ 
tention, the rudiments of lea ning were yet, as of right, confined 
to men of leisure, or those who devoted their whole time to them. 
If the flashings of genius, or the steady blaze of intellectual light 
were so vivid as to be discerned along the path of the peasant, by 
any liberal patron of learning, the former manual occupation must 
be abandoned, as too grovelling for the literary prodigy. Fos¬ 
tered by the hope of distinction and natural feeling, this opinion 
received additional support and strength from the individuals favor¬ 
ed by it. All the schools of the civilized world have been founded 
on the supposition, that the boundaries of instruction in learning 
and science, must be goverened by the intended occupation, unless 
a decided character of mind, or fixed predilection should require a 
chancre. That active physical employment, or laborious muscular 
exertion, might by improving bodily health, also invigorate mental 
energy, has until lately been considered a paradox, suited only to 
the speculative theorist. Since the indefinite multiplication of 
printing presses, the cheapness, variety, and consequent unlimited 
diffusion of books and publications of all sorts, in every depart¬ 
ment of learning, many of which have been produced by men en¬ 
gaged in laborious occupations, the apparent parodox has been 
proved. The playfulness of the mind may be chastened by the dull 
pursuits of active life; works of fancy may not flow so readily 
from the shop of the mechanic, or the home of the ploughman, but 
all useful reflection would «e aided by active engagement, and man¬ 
kind more benefited by observations, the result of experience, con¬ 
nected with literary information and a practical knowledge of the 
world. In every country the agricultural class, the condition and 
employment of which ive have associated to improve, sustains the 
very foundation, and is interwoven with all the interests of socie¬ 
ty; yet owing to causes peculiar to itself and difficult to overcome, 
its improvement has been retarded more than any other, and its in¬ 
dividual and even aggregate influence in society and government 
less than it should be, if properly prepared to exert such influence. 
It employs a great majority of the population, and yet in the pro¬ 
secution of measures requiring combination of individuals, it is in¬ 
comparably weak. 
Agricultural employment disperses its followers over a large sur¬ 
face; meetings for consultation, and mutual improvement by fami¬ 
liar interchange of thought, are inconvenient, and if not guarded 
by the strictest rules of ord r, often tend to unhappy results in the 
habits of a community. It is therefore difficult to produce that 
combination of effort in favor of the requisite measures for its ad¬ 
vancement and success. Yet all obstacles should be overcome. 
Tlie improvement of husbandry is important to the resources of a 
country: all nations possessing regular organized governments 
have highly regarded and endeavored to sustain it: most of them 
with misdirected efforts, have thrown their whole attention to the 
product, without any thought of the further impri vement ot benefit 
of the agent, except to protect him as a part of the machinery suited 
to promote national wealth and pride. But we should think it more 
necessary that the mind and character of the husbandman be ele¬ 
vated to a standard commensurate to his station in society. The 
farmer and mechanic themselves have too long deemed and advo¬ 
cated an education limited by the immediate necessities of the oc¬ 
cupation, as alone necessary; and with regard to the farmer par¬ 
ticularly, that opinion has been restricted far within the wants of 
his engagement. Instruction in all tire natural sciences is impor¬ 
tant to the agriculturist, and as a citizen it should be limited 
only by his capacity to receive it. 
I have before spoken of the jealousy with which some minds re¬ 
gard the introduction of political topics in any assemblies, except 
those convened for such specific purpose. That the good order 
and harmony of a society may be promoted by their exclusion, I 
readi y admit: but I aver that a full and free interchange of opi- 
n on at all times, a freedom of thought and expression, and mode¬ 
rately conflicting discussion, are highly beneficial. There can be 
no true interest of the community opposed to them, but much use¬ 
ful information may be thus elicited. In the intercourse between 
the farmers, no topic on which conversation can be held with mod¬ 
eration should be avoided; all are connected with either our com¬ 
fort or success in some way : more especially however, should we 
regard any attempt to restrain the progress of information to par¬ 
ticular classes, as treasonable to the very existence of republican 
institutions. All opportunities should be seized, all means used to 
diffuse instruction in every branch of science, and in every depart¬ 
ment of learning; we cannot hope for continuance unless this be 
done. 
The resort to h'story and the experience of past ages, for the 
purpose of elucidation and comparison, is, ns I have endeavored to 
show, difficult and fallacious. The state of the whole world is 
materially variant from that of any former time preceding the 
last century. With the progress and change of society within 
that period we are familiar: even the last fifty years have presented 
almost an entire revolution in t he industry of society, and the rela- 
lative influence of its various classes and pursuits. The progress 
of science with the diffusion of education has extended occupation 
into new channels. Articles of luxury and convenience, not known 
to our ancestors, have come into familiar use, and are now neces¬ 
saries of life from habit. The easy intercourse produced by recent 
discoveries and improvements in mechanics, has approximated the 
most distant nations: even the unvarying eastern nations of the 
old world, whence we have the first record of existence and civili¬ 
zation, and which exhibit to this day a wonderful similarity to the 
recorded accounts of the manners and habits of the inhabitants in 
the most ancient times, are now threatened with innovation, and 
preparing to bend to the influence of the times and the spirit of 
change. Alterations in the general relative conditions of the hu¬ 
man race have been produced every where: we must look forward 
to further advancement. There will probably be no retrograde, 
unless as in the first ages of the Christian era and previous to that 
time, the progress of venality and luxury, should have prostrated 
both the moral and physical energy of civilized man, and the gene¬ 
ral disruption of society follow in the train of destroying hordes. 
Such effects cannot however now be produced in the same way. 
The “officina gentium,” the northern h ve, whence the destroyers 
of the ancient nations broke, has been invaded, and will through¬ 
out its whole exten' submit to the universal spirit of improvement. 
