THE PHILOMATHESIAN.

Vol. 1. Middlebury College, October. No. 4.

"NOT FREE FROM FAULTS, NOR YET TOO VAIN TO MEND. "

PATIENT THOUGHT.

THESE, says another, are the two simple, but magic words, which, according to Newton's own statement, contain the secret of his greatness. This same remark will doubtless apply with equal force to most, if not to all of those master spirits, and gigantic intellects, which have appeared in different ages of the world, as pioneers in the march of human improvement, and as almoners of Heaven's munificence to the world of mankind. Those men were accustomed to habits of intense thinking, of close and critical examination of things, without which, both their names, and the benefits which their labors have conferred on the world, would have been alike unknown and unrealized, and this exercise of the mental powers, must be considered indispensably necessary to the accomplishment of any thing great, or important, whether in science, literature or art; whether in morals, law, or politics; whether in public or in private life; and whether viewed with regard to the individuals themselves, or with reference to the community and age in which they live.

By industry, and patient meditation, we would not be understood to mean that listless indulgence of the thoughts, which suffers them to wander, vagrant, disconnected and confused; resting

upon no particular object, gathering no instruction from the boundless fields of vagary and phantasm, through which they pass and which deserves no better name than idle musing. Nor do we mean contemplation simply, or an unrestrained license to the imagination, flitting over spaces of unlimited extent, and like the shadows of passing clouds upon the mountains, leaving no impression on the mind. Nor yet do we mean the playful freaks of fancy, darting into the wild delusive regions of speculation, continually departing farther and farther from the truth; and, like the eagle, buried in the distant vault of heaven, in an ocean of solar rays, completely overpowered and deprived of vision, or misguided by the straggling particles of stellar light, wanders forever in the mazy tracts of doubt, without ever approaching any thing like cer tainty.

But, we would mean by Patient Thought, that exercise of the intellectual powers, which requires effort, which requires decision, and which requires no small degree of self-denial;-which shuts out from the operations of the mind, those almost numberless influences, which are every hour and moment, by means of the senses, passions and other causes, making their way into the chambers of the soul,--which blocks up for a time the avenues of communication between the material and immaterial world, by raising an effectual barrier against that tide of sensations which is constantly pressing its way forward upon the mind;—which chains the imagination down to the standard of sober reality, preventing at the same time the mind from feeding upon its spontaneous productions, however sweet, pleasant or agreeable they may be, unless the real essence of truth; and lastly, that effort of the mind which places the subject of investigation in the very focus of the intellect, and brings the collected powers of the soul to act in unison; to act vigorously; and to act without interruption, till the object of its pursuit is fully, and completely accomplished.

A mind thus intently engaged in the prosecutions of its inquiries goes right forward to the accomplishment of its undertaking, whatever that undertaking may be. It penetrates into the most secret intricacies of speculation and the hypotheses of phenomena, developing whole systems, and tracing every principle laid down, up to its source, to its constituents elements, and from thence following out its consequences into all the various ramifications of the most complicated theories, whether in science, politics or religion.

As the inquisitive architect, who is engaged in removing the remeins of some ancient structure of curious workmanship, commencing his work at the summit of the dome and proceeding downwards till he comes to the very foundation on which the whole fabric rested, becomes thoroughly acquainted with every part, with its materials, with their form, size and properties, and what was the place that each was originally destined to fill, and whether all the parts subserved the purposes for which they were designed or not; so those engaged in profound thought, in patient persevering enquiry, become thoroughly acquainted with very part of their subject. And could we but have penetrated into the retirement of Luther, Melancthon, and of others of the great reformers of the 14th century, and became acquainted with the operations of their minds, while they were engaged in examining the monstrous fabric of the Romish Hierarchy, and in removing the foundations of society, of arbritary power, of superstition and tyranny, and dashing to the ground the laborious superstructure of more than a thousand years; we might, I doubt not, have witnessed a similar process of careful examination.

These

We might say the same of Newton, Bacon and Locke. men, great as they were, could never have risen above the horizon of their own age, in discovery, in philosophy and in science, had they not devoted much of their lives to solitary and patient investigation. The world had never seen Newton ascending into the distant regions of the heavens, passing far beyond the limits of all former discoveries, and like a celestial genius taking his station on a remote point of the universe, tracing the laws which govern the whole solar and stellary system, and making known the phenomena of light, had he not lit up his torch, and prepared his vehicle of discovery, in the tranquil and undisturbed laboratory of his own mind,--in the pure atmosphere of reflection, in the region of humble enquiry and patient thought.

The names of Bacon and of Locke had probably been as little known to this generation, as are now those of any two of the most obscure individuals who prostrate themselves in the temples of Mecca, or wander over the pathless deserts of Arabia; and their admirable systems of philosophy, and methods of reasoning, had been still buried in the regions of hypothesis and doubtful speculation, had they not applied their minds to this rigid course of labor, and self-denying effort.

We might mention many other considerations showing the greatest importance of profound meditation and patient inquiry; whether we view it with regard to its effects on the intellectual capacities and habits of individuals; or whether we consider it with a view to the splendid discoveries, the valuable improvements and the useful inventions which have flowed from it as its legitimate fruits. Let us connect the idea of Socrates and of Plato, of Demosthenes and Cicero; with that of their habits of retirement and seclusion.— Witness the two former in the groves of Academia, engaged in laborious studies and abstruse enquiries; and then call to mind their precepts and systems of philosophy, which afterwards obtained such universal domination over all other theories of heathen antiquity; -let us picture to our minds Demosthenes retiring to his cave and there, for months together, devoting his solitary hours to the labors of the mid-night oil; and after this, observe the result of his toils exhibited in that display of eloquence, which at once called into active exorcise the dull and almost lifeless energies of a whole empire, and which was more dreaded by the hero of Macedon and conqueror of all Greece, than the collected powers of a once great and warlike people ;--again we might associate a view of the garden of Tully, witnessing the meditations of the great Roman orator, with that of a whole senate bowing submissively to the powers of his eloquence; nay, with that of a mighty empire, the mistress of the world, suspended as it were from his hand, and vibrating with the impulses of his overwhelming oratory.

After a long slumbering of the human intellect, of thought and of enquiry, we might have witnessed Columbus, wrapt in profound meditation and anxious research for proof of western soil, as he walked upon the silent shores of Andalusia, confirming his theory by long and patient observation, and at length, as the result of his labors, privation and great self-denial, bequeathing to posterity and to mankind, the wealth and the blessings of a new world. Could we have followed Franklin into his retirement, we should have there discovered that great philosopher, of whose talents and discoveries Americans shall ever be proud, devoting himself up to honest inquiry and humble investigation, with all the docility of a child, till at length, he was able to master the lightnings of heaven, and direct their destructive thunderbolts harmlessly over the temples and dwellings of his countrymen; and thus taught mankind no longer to regard this phenomenon as an indication of God's wrath, or as

a precursor of evil to men, but as a necessary agent in the physical world.

Such are a few of the splendid results of patient thought. Yet, we do not contend that this alone was the cause of all these grand results. Notwithstanding, we do affirm that without this, such men as Demosthenes, Cicero and Columbus, Luther, Newton and Locke, Bacon and Franklin, had never appeared. America, instead of being what she now is, populous, civilized, free and enlightened to a considerable extent, furnishing food, habitation and the comforts of life to so many millions of the human race, without this, had still continued to be an unbroken wild. Without this, man had still gazed at the concave heavens with no other emotion than, perhaps wonder, at the infinitude of shining points which every where above him meet his eye, and with no more knowledge of them, than simply, that they appear in the nocturnal sky and make an impression on his mind.

Finally, without patient thought, without industrious persevering investigation, the human mind had still been in a state of infancy, imbecile, weak and timorous; but with this exercise, it will doubtless continue to show itself possessed of those qualities for which it has always been distinguished,--qualities which exhibit man as occupying a station little inferior to angels, and which assimilates him to his Maker.

P.

IF MEN were jealous of no rivalry-ambitious of no exclusive praise--in fear of no misrepresentations--fretted by no errors of estimation--encumbered by no diffidence (offspring of pride and infirmity ;)--if, in a word, they were impelled always by the simplest and most direct motives, the minds of all would start up with a new energy, and move at another rate, than heretofore. Signal instances of power and virtue, if all bosoms were purged of envy, would furnish an exhilarating motive, that must at once strengthen and animate all minds :--as the direct rays of the sun on the surface of the earth produce not a warmth so invigorating, as the reverberation of those rays from the sides of hills--rock, and edifices. Saturday Evening.