"Now That Is One Of The Reasons, And One Of The Principal Reasons, Why
I Believe A Blight Seemed To Have Fallen Over Our Fortunes.
I think at
the same time that there is another cause that has exercised an
injurious effect upon the position, until recently, of this
institution.
I think that a limited view of its real character has been
taken even by those who were inclined to view it in a spirit of extreme
friendliness. It has been looked upon in the light of a luxury, and not
of a necessity - as a means of enjoyment in the hour of prosperity, from
which we ought to be debarred when the adverse moment has arrived; so
that, when trade was prospering, when all was sunshiny, a man might
condescend to occupy his spare hours in something else than in a
melancholy brooding over the state of the country - that, when returns
were rapid, and profits ready, one might deign to cultivate one's
faculties, and become acquainted with what the mind of Europe was
conceiving or executing; but these were delights to be reserved only
for those chosen hours. Now that, I am bound frankly to say, is not the
view which I take of this question - not the idea which I have formed of
the real character of the Manchester Athenaeum. I look upon it as part
of that great educational movement which is the noble and ennobling
characteristic of the age in which we live. Viewing it in that light, I
cannot consent myself that it should be supported by fits and starts.
The impulse which has given us that movement in modern times, is one
that may be traced to an age that may now be considered comparatively
remote, though the swell of the waters has but recently approached our
own shore. Heretofore society was established necessarily on a very
different principle to that which is now its basis. As civilization has
gradually progressed, it has equalized the physical qualities of man.
Instead of the strong arm, it is the strong head that is now the moving
principle of society. You have disenthroned Force, and placed on her
high seat Intelligence; and the necessary consequence of this great
revolution is, that it has become the duty and the delight equally of
every citizen to cultivate his faculties. The prince of all philosophy
has told you in an immortal apophthegm, so familiar to you all, that it
is now written in your halls and chambers, - 'Knowledge is power.' If
that memorable passage had been pursued by the student who first
announced this discovery of that great man to society, he would have
found an oracle not less striking, and, in my mind, certainly not less
true; for Lord Bacon has not only said that 'Knowledge is power,' but
living one century after the discovery of the printing press, he has
also announced to the world that 'Knowledge is pleasure.' Why, when the
great body of mankind had become familiar with this great discovery -
when they learned that a new source was opened to them of influence and
enjoyment - is it wonderful that from that hour the heart of nations has
palpitated with the desire of becoming acquainted with all that has
happened, and with speculating on what may occur? It has indeed
produced upon the popular intellect an influence almost as great as - I
might say analogous to - the great change which was produced upon the
old commercial world by the discovery of the Americas. A new standard
of value was introduced, and, after this, to be distinguished - man must
be intellectual. Nor, indeed, am I surprised that this feeling has so
powerfully influenced our race; for the idea that human happiness is
dependent on the cultivation of the mind, and on the discovery of
truth, is, next to the conviction of our immortality, the idea the most
full of consolation to man; for the cultivation of the mind has no
limits, and truth is the only thing that is eternal. Indeed, when you
consider what a man is who knows only what is passing under his own
eyes, and what the condition of the same man must be who belongs to an
institution like the one which has assembled us together to-night, is
it - ought it to be - a matter of surprise that, from that moment to the
present, you have had a general feeling throughout the civilized world
in favour of the diffusion of knowledge? A man who knows nothing but
the history of the passing hour - who knows nothing of the history of
the past but that a certain person, whose brain was as vacant as his
own, occupied the same house as himself, who in a moment of despondency
or of gloom has no hope in the morrow because he has read nothing that
has taught him that to-morrow has any changes - that man, compared with
him who has read the most ordinary abridgment of history, or the most
common philosophical speculation, is as distinct and different an
animal as if he had fallen from some other planet, was influenced by a
different organization, working for a different end, and hoping for a
different result. It is knowledge that equalizes the social condition
of man - that gives to all, however different their political position,
passions which are in common and enjoyments which are universal.
Knowledge is like the mystic ladder in the patriarch's dream. Its base
rests on the primaeval earth - its crest is lost in the shadowy splendour
of the empyrean; while the great authors, who for traditionary ages
have held the chain of science and philosophy, of poesy and erudition,
are the angels ascending and descending the sacred scale, and
maintaining, as it were, the communication between man and heaven. This
feeling is so universal that there is no combination of society in any
age in which it has not developed itself. It may, indeed, be partly
restrained under despotic governments, under peculiar systems of
retarded civilization; but it is a consequence as incidental to the
spirit and the genius of the Christian civilization of Europe as that
the day should follow night, and the stars should shine according to
their laws and order.
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