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ATHENS, QA.
Saturday Evening, March 19, IS7O.
Published by the Literary Societies of the University.
EDITORIAL CORPS.
Der.ioßtheman Society. Phi Kappa Society.
W. B. HILL, Wis. A. SHORTER,
<T. B. B. SMITH, I. P. HUTCHINSON.
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lege—especially those who have graduated since
the' war—will not only subscribe, but interest
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of the College, the students at the institutions
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gian at the Book Store of A. M. Scudder, or at
the office of tho “ Southern Watchman.”
The name of each contributor must ac
company the articles sent in; otherwise they
will be rejected. The names of the writors
should be enclosed, with the articles, in sealed
envelopes. If the article be rejected, the seal
ed envelope will not be opened. The design of
this arrangement, is to secure perfect impar
taility.
Modern Literature,
Irving gives us no portraiture
more amusing than that of Rip Van
Winkle, who, after waking up from
his twenty years’ sleep on the moun
tain, wended his way back to his vil
lage home. Marching up to the gate
of the fence that surrounded his
dwelling, he inferred that his spouse
was no longer an inmate—for he fail
ed to hear the virago intonations that
ever gave proof of her being in the
vicinity. He turned away in won
der and proceeded to the Public
Square. Here he was surrounded by
a troop of black-bird politicians, who
eagerly asked him for whom he in
tended to vote? , “Vote indeed,”
ejaculated the amazed Rip; “why, I
am for good King George, and al
ways will be.” His loyal outburst
was received with a titter; and to
enlighten his ignorance, he was told
that the U. S. now elected Presidents
to the chair of State. We propose,
in this article, to crusade editorially,
THE GEORGIA COLLEGIAN.
against Rip Van Winkleism—against
slumbering while important events
are transpiring, so that in tho hour
of waking, wo find ourselves a centu
ry behind the times.
We begin with tho proposition that
every College boy ought to devote
some lime to Reading. The mind of
that student who ding-dongs forever
at his text-books, will bo marked by
a sameness equal to that of the Latin
cornu of which all the cases in the
singular are alike. His intellect so
far from being an instrument, over
the chords or keys of which the fin-,
ger of time and circumstance may
sweep, and from which it may
evoke a thousand varied melodies—
will boa mere music box—able to
play monotonously nought but tho
same little tinkle of tunes always.
In the second place, we aver that,
since the College student has not the
leisure to taste of all styles of litera
turo, the style which is most impor
tant has prime claims on his atten
tion. The principle of dessert doos
not apply to reading; instead of sav
ing the best for the last, we would
say, do not read any book while
there is yet a more valuable book
unread. It is necessary to discrimi
nate in favor of that style of reading
which is most profitable.
We claim, now, that modern liter
ature-exemplifying the spirit of the
times recording the history and the
progress of the age, and showing the
channels of modern thought, consti
tutes moro valuable reading than the
historical accounts of the past.
What is the great problem of
thought for us in life ? To take cer
tain facts and draw conclusions there
from. This is the business of the
lawyer. The evidence is given him
as a mass of facts to which he is to
apply “ the calculus of probabilities,”
and from which he is to make his cli
ent’s guilt or innocence appear.—
Now, if the business of life is to take
certain data and reason inductively
upon them, it is important that the
data—the premises furnished—should
be grounded upon positive truth.
Suppose, for instance, that we are
reasoningabout government; wheth
er this plan would work well; what
course the people would take if it
were carried out. Before we can
reason with any certainty, we must
obtain some preliminary facts. To
obtain these, shall wo go to Rome
and Greece? No. For the records
that we have of these countries are as
unreliable as the Apocrypha. An
author, writing a history, was inter*
rupted by a street brawl under his
window. Ho was visited in turn by
three truthful gentlemen, each of
whom gave a different account of the
affair. He threw down his pen in
disgust. “ Alas,” said he, «ifitis so
difficult to get at the truth of an oc
currence that happens in my own
day, how can l hope to arrive at the
iruth concerning the events and cha
racters of the past; when for my
testimony I have nought but the pre
judiced, incomplete, and uncertain
accounts of by gone days?” Not to
Gieece and Rome! But if a thinker
is in quest of facts to serve as prem
ises—upon the truth of which he can
with almost positive confidence rely
—let him read the occurrences of the
last ten years and of the present
time—Modern Literature.
Besides, it would be silly to take
the facts, given by tho histories of
ages far remote, as premises from
which to draw conconclusions as to
modern government, and as to tho
probabilities of developments in this
century; because, the changes in cir
cumstances have been so great that
the past bears very little, or not at
all, on the present. We do not say
that these changes have wrought a
radical revolution in human nature :
this, in its broad substratum, is ever
the same. Yet changes in circura°
stances produce wonderful modifica
tions of character. The human na
ture of Rome in tho past and of Eng
land to day, is the same, and yet
widely different; just as carbon is
ever the same, and yet coal and dia
mond, both of which are allopropic
states of carbon, are widely different.
Contrast if you please, Rome, at the
time of Augustus, and Prussia, at this
period. The contrast is rich in its
antithesis. Tho character of the peo
ple, of all civil institutions, of nation
al" diplomacy, the religion and tho
civilization in tho two cases, is fun
damentally dissimilar. The same
motives, therefore, which controlled
the former people, do not actuate the
latter. We make this assertion speci
fically, for, as a broad generalization,
men always have been and always
will be influenced by certain common
impulses. But, as a rigidly close
analysis, our assertion is true. Can
Count Bismarck, then, in debating
some new measure in his diplomacy,
determine its expediency by conclu
sions drawn from a study of Roman
history. Not so. Its expediency
can be calculated only from study of
the events of tho recent past, and of
those works which indicate the spirit
of the century.
In conclusion, this qualification is
essential. No man of sense would
utterly repudiate a knowledge of
past history in its general features.
We would discard only the knowl
edge of minute and unessential de
tails purchased at the expense of a
knowledge of tho characteristics and
workings of our own age. We would
have every one able to read the de
grees in the scale of past history; but
it is foolish to apply the vernier
thereto and seek to decipher differ
ences so small and unimportant as a
minute or a second. The man who
neglects the literature of his own day
will be, when be launches out upon
life’s sea, as awkward as a fresh-wa
ter sailor. When he enters into the
world as it was, will be as verdant as
tho man who at a fashionable table
took up the finger bowl, when hand
ed to him, and drank of the warm
water therein, greatly at the risk of
his internal peace,
An acquaintance with Modern Li
terature is best acquired by reading
the standard English and American
periodicals; among the former we
we note the Westminster, Black
wood, the Edinburgh, &c.; among
the latter, the Eclectic, the Galaxy,
Littell’s Living Age, Appleton’s
Journal, Bledsoe’s Review, the New
Electric, and the XIX Century, are
of great merit. We mention these
periodicals, since it would be too vast
an undertaking for a student to at
tempt to familiarize himself with
modern books; and since these peri
odicals contain critical reviews of
these books.
On the dial plate of the world’s
clock the hand points to XIX. Let
no one, who would be wise, refuse to
heed its pointing, and blindly focal
ize his attention on those eras over
which the hand of the clock has pass
ed ! )
r
Our Jk—
The following have conue tb'uaai
exchanges:
The “ XIX Century,” of Charles
ton, S. C.—The pages of every num
ber teem with intellectual wealth.
Being a Southern magazine, it has
prime claims on every Southern
purse. We trust it may attain a
great longevity. Although not mas
ny years must elapse before its name
will have to be changed to “XX
Contury,” we hope that tho merit
and prosperity of this periodical may
remain unaltered.
The Southern Cultivator, of Athens,
published nnd edited by Wra. & Wm.
L. Jones, is a most valuable agricul
tural journal. Its long life and in
creasing circulation prove that it has
the public trust. Dr. Wm. L. JoDes
is Professor of Chemistry, Agricul
ture, etc., in our University.
The University of Virginia Maga
zine.—The articles are all well writ
ten. Amid so much thatis excellent,
we should judge it would bo difficult
to single out the “ best contributor,”
to whom at the close of tho session,
the Literary Societies are to award
a medal worth fifty dollars.
The Baltimore Christian Advocate.
—This ably conducted weekly is ed
ited by Dr. Bond and Rev. Dr. Hol
land, of Baltimore. Tho former is a
most pungent writer; every sentence
is as crisp as a pie crust; every thrust
at error is like the arrow of Tell, that
never misses its mark. Almost eve
ry article shows that the Doctor does