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OBSERVATIONS 0 THE GROWTH OF THE MIND. BY SAMPSON REED. Concluded . of creation —and as, in the progress of moral im provement, the imagination (which is called the creative power of man) shall coincide with the actively creative will of God, reason will be clothed with eloquence, as nature is with verdure. Reason is said to be a power given to man for his protection and safety. Let us not be deceived by words. If this were the par icular design, it should be found in equal perfection in every con dition of the mind ; for all are in equal need of such a power. It is the office of the eye to dis cern the objects of nature, and it may protect the body from any impending injury; and the under standing may be useful in a similar way to the the spiritual man. Reason is partly a natural and partly an acquired power. The understanding is the eye, with simply the bower of discerning the light; but reason is the eye, whose powers have been enlarged by exercise and experience, which measures the distance of objects, compares their magnitudes, discerns their colors, and se lects and arranges them according to the relation they bear to each other. In the progress of mor al improvement no power of the mind, or rather no mode of exercising the understanding, under goes a more thorough and decisive change than this. It is like the change from chaos to creation ; since it requires a similar exercise of the under standing in man to comprehend creation, to what it docs in God to produce it; and every approach to II im, by bringing us nearer the origin of things, enables us to discover analogies in what was be fore chaotic. This is a change which it is the grand design of revelation to accomplish; reason should therefore come to revelation in the spirit of prayer, and not in that of judgement. Noth ing can be more intimately and necessarily con nected with the moral character of an individual than his rational powers, since it is his moral character which is the grand cause of that pecu liar classification and arangement which charac terizes his mind; hence revelation, in changing the former, must change the latter also. The insufficiency of reason to judge of the Bi ble, is obvious on the very face of revelation from its miracles. The laws of Divine Operation are perfectly uniform and harmonious; and a miracle is a particular instance of Divine Power, which, for want of more interior and extended knowl- edge of the ways of God, appearing to stand alone, and to have been the result of an unusual exertion of the Divine Will, creates in the minds of men, what its name implies, a sensation of wonder. That there are miracles in the Bible, proves that there are laws of the Divine Operation and of the Divine Government, which are not em braced within the utmost limits of that classifica tion and arrangement, which is the result of nat ural reason. \\ hile, therefore, human reason professes to be convinced of the reality of reve lation from its miracles, let it humble itself before them. Let it bow itself to the earth, that it may be exalted to a more intimate acquantaince with these heavenly strangers. Let it follow the Lord in the regeneration, till the wonderful disappear iu the paternal. Miracles are like angels who have sometimes been visible to men, who would much more willingly have introduced them to an acquantance with the laws and society of heaven, than have filled them with fear and consternation. They are insulated example's of laws as boundless as the universe, and by the manner in which we are affected by them, prove how much we have to learn, and how utterly incompetent we are to judge of the ways of Gocl, from that reason which is founded on our own limited and fallacious observation. The resurrection of our Lord must have been a very different miracle to the angels at the sepulchre, from what it was to Mary. They saw it from the other side of the grave, with a knowledge of the nature of that death which they had themselves experienced ; she saw an insulated fact, not at all coincident with her views on the subject of which it was an illustration. They saw the use and design of that which had been accomplished; she saw the sepulchre and the lin nen clothes lying. As they gazed intensely at the same subject, the veil ot heaven was withdrawn, and they beheld each other, face to face. She was filled with fear; they with love and compas sion. If Mary were to persist in judging of this subject from her own reason; from a knowledge ot those laws with which she was ac quainted; how could her views ever become an gelic/ How could the dark cloud, of admiration be ever filled with the rich light of the rising sun ‘/ Man alone, ol all created things, appears on his own account to want the full measure of his happiness; because he alone has left the order of his creation. He stands, even at the present pe riod, half con\ inced of the reality of the future state. It is the design of revelation to restore to him that moral condition in which he will possess as*neccessarilv the consciousness of immortality, as the brute does that of existence; fora con sciousness of existence, together with that of union with God, is a consciousness of eternal life. Let us come to the Bible then, with no hopes of arbi- trary reward, and no fears of arbitrary pun ishment; but let us come to it, as to that which, if followed aright, will produce a con dition of mind of which happiness will be the natural and necessary consequence. It is often said that the Bible has nothing to do with metaphysics or the sciences. An individual, whatever be his condition, always retains, to a certain extent, a consciousness of his moral and intellectual character; and the more this charac ter is exalted, the more minute and discriminating will be this consciousness. Who is it that formed the human mind, and who is here endeavoring to restore it to its true order'/ The Bible has the mind for its subject, that condition of mind which has heaven for its object, and the Father of mind for its author. Has it nothing to do with meta physics'/ It has indeed nothing to do with that metaphysics which we shall leave with our bodies in the graves; but of that which will shine with more and more briliancy, as the passage is open ed, not through distant regions of space, hat through the secret part of our own souls to the presence of God, it is the very life and being. Can omniscience contemplate the happiness ot the mind, without regard to its nature? Werej we disposed to improve the condition of the sav age, what course should we pursue ? should we not endeavor to change his habits of mind and body, by teaching him the arts of civilization, in structing him in the sciences, and gradually in-: troducing him to that pnition of social order which is here attained ? And are not all these most inti mately connected with our own condition ofj mind? Are they not merely the expression of its countenance? In the same way is it the endea vor of the Divine Mind in the Bible to restore all to his own image and likeness; and to sav that the Bible has nothing to do with metaphysics, is to say that the present condition of the mind has nothing to do with what it should be, and that present metaphysics have nothing to do with re ligion. It is said that the Bible has nothing to do with the sciences. It is true that it does not teach them directly; but it is gradually unfolding a con dition of mind, out of which the sciences will spring as naturally, as the leaves and !>loss<m ; j from the tree that bears them. It is the same power which acts simultaneously to develop the soul itself, and to develop nature —to form the mind and the mould which is destined to receive it. As we behold the external face of the world, our souls will hold communion with its spirit; and we shall seem to extend our consciousness beyond the narrow limits of our own bodies, to the living objects that surround us. The mind will enter into nature b\ the secret path of him who forms her ; and can be no longer ignorant of her laws, when it is a witness of her creation. I have endeavored to illustrate, generally, in what way the natural sciences, the actual condi lion of society, and the Word of God, are neces sary to the development of all minds, in a man ner analogous to that in which the earth, the at mosphere and the sun combines to bring forth the | productions of nature. I shall say but a few words with respect to that particular development which is requisite to the full manifestation of the peculiar powers possessed by any individual. It is well known that at a certain period of life the character of a man begins to be more distinct ly marked. He appears to become separated lrom that which surrounds him—to stand iu a measure aloof from his associates—to raise his head above the shadow of any earthly object in to the light of heaven, and to walk with a more determined step on the eartli beneath. This is the manifestation of a character which has always existed, and which has, as it were, been accumu lating by little and little, till at length it has at tained its full stature. When a man has become his own master, it is left to himself to complete his own education. “He has one Fa;her, God.” For the formation of his character, thus far, he is not in the strictest sense accountable; tnat is, his character is not as yet so fixed, but that it is yiel ding and pliable. It is left to himself to decide, how far it shall remain in its present form. This is indeed a period of deep responsibility. He has taken the guidance of a human being, and is not the less accountable, that this being is bt-mself. The ligament is now cut asunder by which his mind was bound to its earthly guardian, and he is placed on his own feet, exposed to the bleak winds and refreshing breezes, the clouds and the sun shine of this work], fully accountable to God and man tor his conduct. Let him not be m ule dizzy from a sense of his own liberty, nor faint under his own weight; but let him remember that the eye ot God is now fixed full, it might be said anx iously, upon him. It is with the human mind, as with the human body. All our race have those limbs and feat tires, and that general aspect, from which they are de nominated men. But, on a nearer view* we find them divided into nations possessed of peculiar appearance and habits, and these subdivided into families and individuals, in ail ol which there is something peculiarly their own. The human mind (speaking in the most general sense) re quires to be instructed in the same sciences, and needs the same general developoment, and is des tined to make one common and universal effort for its own emancipation. But the several na tions of the earth also will, at a future period, stand forth with a distinctness ol character which cannot now be conceived of. The part which each is to perform in the regeneration of the world, will become more and more distinctly marked .and universally acknowledg€'d; and every nation will be found to possess resources in its own moral and intellectual character, and its own natural productions, which will render it essential to the well-being and happiness ot the whole. Every government must find that the real good of its own people precisely harmonizes with that, of others; and standing armies must be converted into willing laborers for the promotion of the same object. Then will the nations of the earth re semble the well-organized parts ot the same body, and no longer convert that light which is given them for the benefit o‘ their bretheren, into an in strument bv which they are degraded and enslaved. But we stop not here. Every individual also possesses peculiar powers, which should be brought to bear on society in the duties best fitted to receive them. The highest degree of cultiva tion of which the mind of any one is capable, con sists in the most perfect development of that pe culiar organization, which as really exists in m | fancy as in in iturer years. The seed which is ! planted is said to possess in mmature, the trunk, ■'Branches, leaves and fruit of the future tree, So |it is with the mind ; md the most that can possibly be done, is t > alf>rd facilities by which its devel opment may be effected with the same order. In the process of the formation of our minds there ! exists the spirit of prophecy ; and no advance ! moot can create surprise., because we have always been conscious of that form which it has pro ductal. We must not seek to make one hair : white or black. It is in vain for us to attempt to add one cubit to our statue. All adventitious or assumed importance should be cast oil, as a i filthy garment. We should seek an employment for the mind, in w hich all its energies may bo warmed into exi>tence; which (il 1 may be al lowed the expression) may bring every muscle into action. There is something which every one can do better than any one else; and is the ten dency, and must be the end, of human events, to assign to e tch his true calling. Kings will be hurled from their thrones, and peasants exalted to the highest -stations, by this irresistable ten dency of mind to its true level. These effects | m ty not be fully disclosed in the short period of this life : but even the most incredulous must be ultim itch” convinced th it the truth is no respecter of persons, by learning the simple fact, that a man cannot be other than what he is. Not that endless progression in moral goodness and in wisdom are not within the reach of any one ; but that the state will never arrive, when he may not look back to first rudiments, the original stamina of his own mind, and be almost able to say, l pos sessed all at the time of mv birth. The more a person live; in singleness of heart, in simplicity, and sincerity, the more will this be apparent. It b comes us, then, to seek and to cherL-h this fK’ct/lium of our own minds, as the patrimony which is left us by our Father in heaven—as that hv which the branch is united to the vine—as the formingpporerw r er within us, which gives to our per sons that by which they are distinguished from others; and, by a life entirely governed bv the comm indments of God, to leave on the duties we are called to perform the full impress of our real characters. Let a man’s ambition to be great disappear in a willingness to be what he is ; then may he fill a high place without pride, or a low one without dejection. As our desires become more and more concentrated to those objects which correspond to the peculiar organization of our minds, we shall have a foretaste of that which is coining, in those internal tendencies of which we are conscious. As we perform with .alacrity whatever duty presents itself before us, we shall perceive in our own hearts a kind of pre paration for every external event or occurrence of our lives, even the mast trivial, springing from the all-pervading tendency of the Providence of God, to present the opportunity of being useful wherever there is the disposition. Living in a country whose peculiar character istic is said to be a love of equal libertv, let it be written on our hearts, that the end of all ed ucation is a life of active usefulness. We want no education which shall raise a man out of th * reach .of die understanding, or the sympathies of any of his species. We are disgusted with that| kind of dignity which the possessor is himself obliged to guard ; but venerate that, which h iving its origin in the actual character of the man, can receive no diminution from die approach of weak ness—that dignity in which the individual ap pears to live rather in the consciousness of the light which shines from above, than in that of his own shadow beneath. There is a spiritual at mosphere about such an one, which is at once its own protection, and the protection of him! with whom it is connected—which, while it is tree as air alike to the most powerful arid the most humble, conveys a tacit warning th it too near an approach is not permitted. We ac knowledge the invisible chain which binds to gether all classes of society, and would apply to it sh(; electric sparks of knowledge with the hand ot ten derncss and caution. We acknowledge the healthy union of mental and bodily exercise, and would rather see all men industrious and t( md, to s>ee one hall ol mankind, slaves to the other, and these slaves to their passions. We acknowledge th it the natural world is one vast mine ol wisdom, for this reason it is the scene of the labois ol man; and that in seeing this wis dom, there is philosophy, and in loving it there is religion. Most sensibly do we feel, that as the true end of instruction is to prepare a man fo r some particular sphere of usefulness; that when he has found this sphere, his education has then truly commenced, and the finger ot God is point, ing to the very page of the book of his oracles from which he in iv draw the profoundest wisdom. It was the design of Providence that there should be enough of science connected with the calling of each for the highest and holiest pur poses of heaven. It is the natural world from which ;be philosopher draws his knowledge; it is the natural world in which the slave toils for his bread. Alas ! when will they be one? When we are willing to practise what we learn, and re ligion makes our duty our delight. The mass of mankind must always labor; hence it is supposed that they must be always ignorant. Thus has the pride of men converted that discipline into an occasion of darkness and misery, which was in tended only to give reality to knowledge, and to make happiness eternal. Truth is the way in which we should act; and then only is a man truly wise when the body performs what the mind perceives. In this way, flesh and blood are made made to partake of the wisdom of ihe spiritual man; and the palms of our bauds will become the book of our life, on which is inscribed all the love and all the wisdom we possess. It is the light which directs a man to his duty; it is by doing his duty that he is enlightened —thus does he become identilie with his own acts ot useful ness. and his own vocation is the silken chord which directs to his heart the knowledge and the blessings of all m mkind. The fir t. 7Vediting* —Major Noah thus pleasantly and philosophically discourses upon “the first wedding.” He says:—“We like short court ships, and in this Adam acted like a sensible man. He fell asleep a bachelor, and awoke a married man. He appears to have popped the question almost immediatlv after meeting Md’ile Eve, and she, without any flirtation or shyness, gave him a kiss and herself. Os this first kiss in this world we have had, however, our own thoughts, and sometimes in a poe ical mood have wished we were the man ‘ wot did.’ But the deed is done he chance was Adam’s, and he improved it. We like the notion of getting married in a garden. It is in good taste. We like a private wedding. Adam’s was privte. No envious beaux were there; no croaking old maids ; no chatering aunts and grumbling grandmothers. The birds of hea ven were the minstrels, and .the glad sky flung its light upon the scene. One thing about the first wedding brings queer thoughts to us, in spite of scriptural tru.h. Adam and his wife were rather young to be married—some two or three da a old, according to the sagest speculations of theo logians—mere babies—larger but ot nulder—with out experience, without a house, without a pot or kettle, nothing—but love and Eden.” Emigration andcoloxtzatiox. —“ Ma , ” saida young lad y to her mother the other day, • 4 what is emigrating r” Mother. —“ Emigrating, dear, is a young lady going to California.” Daughter “What is colonizing ma?” M>th<r. — “Colonizing, dear, is marrving there and haveing a family.” Daughti r. — 44 Ma,l should like to go to Calafornia.’ PIIOS PEC T U S! a mm Ww imm A WEEKLY SOUTHERN NEWSPAPER, DKVOTED TO LITERATURE, SCIENCE AND ART, FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE, MASONRY, ODD FELLOWSHIP, AN D THE SONS OF TEMPER ANCE. mt nwASi r, *j?ass. In presenting to the public anew paper, “ ,f are aware that it is customary to make large pro , | mises in advance of performance, but we prefc I to perform first, and refer to it afterwards. It may not be deemed presumptuous, however.! to say, that it is our intention to make as interest*! ing a sheet as possible; knowing, as we do, the more interesting it is, the more liberal will be the support extended to it. Arrangements have been made, day which W shall be in receipt of the latest: Foreign Intelh g >nce, and our patrons may depend upon receh ing the latest intelligence in regard to the stap :: products ot the Southern coun try, as well as cordial and hearty support of the interests of tb South, and its peculiar institutions. The Masonic Fraternity, Odd Fellows, an Sons of Temperance, will always find such ge ; oral information as may be deemed under their appropriate heads. ® m m m s; TWO DOLLARS A YEAR. Three Copies lor one year, or one copy three years, - # Seven Copies. - - . J<* Twelve Copies, - . . . 1$ BP All communications to be addressed (p°’ paid) to E. J. PUKSE, Savannah, G*