And tricks his beams, and with new-spangled ore, A fortunate few are always in the full blaze of sublime glory. They are the phoenixes of the age-the elect of genius, and the favorites of nature and of heaven. There is nothing" under heaven's wide hollowness," which does not furnish aliment for the mind. All that we observe by the organs of sense, and all that we perceive by the operations of the understanding-all that we contemplate in retrospect, at the present or in the future, may be compounded or decomposed in the intellectual laboratory, for beneficial purposes. The active mind is always vigilant, always observing. The original images which are created by a vivid imagination-the useful ideas which are called up by memory, and the vigorous advances of the reasoning power into the regions of disquisition and investigation, furnish full employment for the most powerful mind; and after it is fully stored with all the productions of knowledge, then the intellect has to employ its most important functions in digesting and arranging the vast and splendid materials. And if there be any thing in this world which can administer pure delight, it is when we summon our intellectual resources, rally our mental powers, and proceed to the investigation of a subject distinguished for its importance and complexity, and its influence on the destinies of man. If science were to assume a visible fm, like the fabled muses of the ancient mythology, all men would be ready to exclaim with the poet Her angel's face, As the great eye of heaven shined bright, And made a sunshine in a shady place; Did never mortal eye behold such heavenly grace.‡ But, alas! it is a blessing not without its alloy. Its sedentary occupations, and its severe exercises of the * Milton. + Spenser. + Spenser. mind, impair the health, and hypochondria, the Promethean vulture of the student, poisons for a time all the sources of enjoyment. Add to this, the tortures of hope deferred, and of expectation disappointed. After nights without sleep, and days without repose, in the pursuit of a favorite investigation-after tasking the mind, and stretching all its faculties to the utmost extent of exertion, when the golden vision of approaching fame dazzles the eye in the distance, and the hand is extended to taste the fruit and to reap the harvest, the airy castles, the gorgeous palaces of the imagination, vanish like enchanted ground, and disappear like the baseless fabric of a vision. From such perversities of fortune, the sunshine of comfort may, however, be extracted. In the failure of a scientific investigation, collateral discoveries of great moment have been made. And as an eminent philosopher* has well remarked, “What succeeds, pleaseth more, but what succeeds not, many times informs no less." And in the worst position, the mind is improved, sharpened, expanded, brightened and strengthened by the processes which it has undergone, and the elaborations which it has experienced. We must not then expect A perpetual feast of nectar'd sweets, But we may confidently pronounce, that a cornucopia of blessings will attend the diffusion of knowledgethat it will have an electrifying effect on all the sources of individual happiness and public prosperity-that glory will follow in the train of its felicitous cultivation, and that the public esteem, in perennial dispensation, will crown its votaries. This state enjoys a temperate climate and a fruitful soil, and situate between the great lakes on the north and west, and the ocean on the south and east, ought always to be the seat of plenty and salubrity. It re * Bacon. ↑ Milton. VOL. V. 67 quires nothing but the enlightened evolution of its faculties and resources to realize the beau-ideal of perfection: and the co-operation of man with the bounty of Providence, will render it a terrestrial paradise. And this must be effected through the agency of intellectual, operating on physical exertion. In this grand career of mind, in this potent effort of science, in this illustrious display of patriotism, contributions will flow in from all quarters. The humble mite will be acceptable as well as the golden talent. And the discriminating, perspicacious and comprehensive eye of intellect will find Tongues in trees; books in the running brooks; Indeed, the very ground on which we stand affords topics for important consideration and useful application. This city was among the earliest seats of European settlement. It was at the head of a great portage, reaching from the termination of the navigable waters of the west to the head waters of the Hudson. It was the great entrepot of the valuable trade in furs and peltries, and the thoroughfare of commercial adventures, of scientific explorations, and of military expeditions. In 1690, it was destroyed by an eruption of French and Indians--the lives of many of its inhabitants were saved as it were by a special interposition of Providence. And the sympathizing and pathetic speech of the faithful Mohawks, on that melancholy occasion, may be ranked among the most splendid effusions of oratory.† The alluvial lands of the river, rich as the soil formed by the overflowings of the Nile, were the principal residence of that ferocious and martial race, the true old heads of the Iroquois—a confederacy which carried terror, havoc and desolation from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico; and which aspired to universal empire over the * Shakspeare. † Colden's History of the Five Nations, savage nations. How astonished would that people be, if they could be summoned to life, to witness the flowing of the waters of the west through this place, seeking in a navigable shape, a new route to the Atlantic Ocean-carrying on their bosom the congregated products of nature and art, and spreading as they proceed, wealth and prosperity. All alluvial ground formed by streams emanating from a distance and reinforced in their transit by auxiliary waters, must be fertile not only in soil, but abundant in the various productions of the vegetable kingdom. The germs of plants will be transported from remote quarters; and the gorges and ravines, formed in many places by intersecting streams, will not only protect particular spots from the ravages of the plow, but open the treasures of the mineral kingdom by the profound excavations of the water and the transportation of distant fossils. Here, then, is a proper region for interesting discovery. Strange trees now flourish on the banks of the river; many a flower is born to blush unseen, and many a curious production has never undergone scientific scrutiny. Here has been established a great seminary of education, which in less than thirty years has risen to an extraordinary altitude of excellence; which unites the ardor of youthful enthusiasm with the wisdom of experienced longevity and the celebrity of confirmed usefulness-and which, by an able diffusion of the light of knowledge and a dexterous management of the helm of government, has already produced scholars who adorn and illumine the walks of science and literature-the pursuits of professional life, and the councils of our country. In this vicinity flourished Sir William Johnson, one of the extraordinary characters of our colonial history. He settled near the banks of the Mohawk, and from humble beginnings he acquired great celebrity, particularly in war-immense wealth, and the favor of his sovereign. Auspicious events in concurrence with a paramount influence over the Indians, and great energy of character, laid the foundation and erected the superstructure of his fortunes. In this place lived and died that eminent servant of God, the Rev. Dr. Romeyn, the fragrance of whose virtues is still cherished in your hearts and felt in your lives. His venerable form-his dignified deportment-his eye beaming goodness, and his voice uttering wisdom, are still fresh in your minds; so impressive is the power of combined virtue and intelligence. Dr. Dwight, the greatest theologian of the age, has pronounced his eulogium; and it remains for biography to perform its functions, and to fill up the outlines so ably drawn by one of the most acute observers and profound thinkers which our country has produced.* Finally, whatever may be our thoughts, our words, our writings, or our actions, let them all be subservient to the promotion of science and the prosperity of our country. Pleasure is a shadow; wealth is vanity, and power a pageant-but knowledge is extatic in enjoyment, perennial in fame, unlimited in space, and infinite in duration. In the performance of its sacred offices, it fears no danger, spares no expense, omits no exertion. It scales the mountain, looks into the volcano, dives into the ocean, perforates the earth, wings its flight into the skies, encircles the globe, explores sea and land, contemplates the distant, examines the minute, comprehends the great, and ascends to the sublime. No place too remote for its grasp no heavens too exalted for its reach. "Its seat is the bosom of God-its voice the harmony of the world. All things in heaven and earth do it homage, the very least as feeling its care, and the greatest as not exempt from its power. Both angels and men and creatures, of what condition soever, though each in different sort and manner, yet all, with uniform consent, admiring it as the parent of peace and happiness."† |