\ 
* 
as Oration delivercd at Washington, July 4,1809, [Feb. 1, 
the old English word doleful corresponds with 
the Latin word flebils; for though not fre- 
quently used to denete an afflicted person, it 
is so applied by Sydney : 
How oft my doleful sire cried to me,Tarry,son, 
When first he spied my love. 
—_—e 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
GRATION DELIVERED df WASHINGTON, 
JULY 4, 1809, af the REQUEST of the 
CITIZENS Of the DIsTRICT of COLUMBIA, 
by JOEL BARLOW. 
Friends and Fellow Citizens :— 
HE day we now commemorate will 
never cease to excite in us the most 
exhilarating reflections and mutual gra- 
tulations. Minds of sensibity, accus- 
tomed to range over the field of contem- 
plation, that the ‘birch of our empire 
. spreads before them, must expand, on 
this occasion,to great ideas, and invigorate 
" their patriotic sentiments. 
The thirty-three years of national exis- 
tence, which have brought us to our pre- 
sent condition, are crowded indeed with 
instructive facts, and comprise an inter- 
esting portion of history. But they have 
only prepared this gigantic infant of a na- 
tion to begin its own development. 
‘They are only the prelude to the greater 
events that seem to unfold themselves 
before us, and call for the highest wisdom 
to give them their proper direction. 
It appears to have been the practice 
of the public speakers, called to give ut- 
terance to the feelings of their fellow ci- 
tizens on the anniversary of this day, to 
dwell chiefly upon those memorable trans- 
actions which necessitated, and those 
which afterwards supported, the Act of 
Independence, that givesnamezto the pre- 
sentfestival. Such were the oppressions 
of Britain, and our effectual resistance to 
those oppressions. Transactions so 
eventful, are, doubtless, worthy to be heid 
in perpetual : -emembrance. And as they 
evght never to be forgotten, they should 
frequently be recalled to the notice of our 
younger brethren, who can know them 
only fronr their elders. . But those con- 
flicting scenes are now become every 
where matters of record. They are de- 
tailed so copiously in our annals, and so 
often by our orators, as to render the re- 
petition of their story, at this moment, 
_far less important than to turn our atten- 
tion to other subjects, growing out of the 
interests of our blessed country. 
Our departed heroes and statesmen 
have-not gone without their fame. Our 
tears have ining!ed with the ashes of those 
falien in our battles, and those who have 
descended in peace to alater tomb. Our 
gratitude attends the precious few who 
remain to us of that list of worthies ;, the 
illustrious relics of so many fields of dans 
ger, and somany years of labour; who 
led us in all our darings, when resist- 
ance to tyrants, as well in the forum 
a8 in the fieid, was deemed rebel- 
lion, and thireatencd with death. ‘Their 
whitened locks that still wave among us 
are tities to our veneration; they com~ 
wae and they will obtain it, while the 
virtues they have taught us to practice 
shall continue to warm our hearts. 
But our respect for the memory and 
the persons of all our leaders will be Lest 
evinced by the pious culture we bestow 
on the rich heritage they have secured, 
and are handing over to our possession. 
The present race is likewise passing away; 
but the nation remains and rises with its 
years. While we, the present race, are 
able to call ourselves the nation, we 
should be sensible of the greatness of the 
charge that has devolved upon us. We 
have duties to posterity as well as to our- 
selves. We must gather up our strength 
and encounter those duties. Yes, my 
friends, we are now the nation. Assuch 
we have arrived at that epoch, when, 
instead of looking back with wonder upon 
our infancy, we may leok forward with 
solicitude, to a state of adolescence, with 
confidencetoa state of manhood, Though 
as a nation we are yet in the morning of 
life, we have already attained an eleva- 
tion‘ which enables us to discern our 
course to its meridian splendor; to con- 
template the height we have to climb, 
and the cominanding station we most gain, 
in order to fulfil the destinies to which we 
are called, and perform the duties that 
the cause of human happiness requires at 
our hands. 
To prepare the United States to act 
the distinguished part that Providence 
has assigned them, it is necessary to con- 
vince them that the means are within 
their power. A familiar knowledge of 
the means will teach us how to employ 
them in the attainment of the end. 
Knowledge will lead to wisdom; and 
wisdom, inno small degree, is requisite m 
the conduct of affairs so momentous and 
so new. For our situation is, in many 
respects, not only new to us, but new alsa 
to the world. 
The form of government we have cho- 
sen, the geographical position we occupy, 
as relative to the most turbulent powers 
of Europe, whose political maxims are 
widely different from ours; the vast exs 
tens 
