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4 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. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION, Single copies, one year $ 2.50 “ “ six months 1.50 “ “ three montha 1.00 Clubs of five, one year 11.00 “ “ ten, “ “ 20.00 “ “ twenty, one year 40.00 And an extra copy to the one who gets up a Club of 20. Remittances should be made by regis tered letters or P. O. order. Address all Letters to “Georgia Col legian,” Athens! Ga. INDUCEMENTS TO AGENTS. Any one who constitutes himself an agent, and gets us 5, or more than 5 subscribers, can have the advantage of our club rates. Thus one who gets 5 subscribers (at $2.50 each), need remit us only $11.00; if 10 subscribers, ho need remit only $20.00. Rates of Advertising; No. Sq’rs. 1 mo. 2 mo. 3 mo. 6 mo. 12 mo. One $2 50 $4 75 $ 7 00 $lO 00 sl6 00 Two 5 00 8 00 10 50 15 00 22 00 Three 7 50 11 00 14 00 21 00 30 00 Tour 10 00 15 50 18 00 25 00 38 00 Half Col’n.. tl 00 16 50 20 00 30 00 40 00 One Col’mn 18 00 25 00 30 00 38 00 50 00 Double Col b°P° that the Graduates of the Col lege—especially those who have graduated since the' war—will not only subscribe, but interest themselves to procure subscribers for us. Contributions solicited from the Alumni of the College, the students at the institutions of learning throughout this State and other States; and from the friends of tho University generally. Tho citizens of Athens are respectfully notified that they can subscribe for tho Colle 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