An Oration On The Pleasures And Advantages Of Knowledge And The Necessity Of Moral As Well As Mental Cultivation To Individual Excellence And National Propriety

Author : Henry L. Pinckney
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781331291862
Total Pages : 28 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (918 download)

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Download or read book An Oration on the Pleasures and Advantages of Knowledge, and the Necessity of Moral, as Well as Mental Cultivation, to Individual Excellence and National Prosperity written by Henry L. Pinckney and published by . This book was released on 2015-07-13 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from An Oration on the Pleasures and Advantages of Knowledge, and the Necessity of Moral, as Well as Mental Cultivation, to Individual Excellence and National Prosperity: Delivered Before the Literary Societies of the University of Georgia, August 3d, 1837 Gentlemen of the Demosthenian and Phi Kappa Societies: The occasion, upon which we are assembled, is by no means one of idle curiosity or amusement. It was designed for a far more rational and exalted object, than to please the eye, or gratify the ear, by a vain exhibition of the rhetorical skill. It was instituted to impart instruction to the youth attached to this venerable seat of learning, and particularly to impress upon those, who, at each recurrence of this anniversary, exchange academic for actual life, such sentiments and principles as may enable them to navigate successfully the untried and perilous ocean that lies before them. To those of you, then, who have arrived at this critical and important period, and to all connected with you by consanguinity or friendship, this is a season of profound and affecting interest. Standing as you do, upon a narrow isthmus, a mere point of time, you will soon have left this peaceful and secluded vale, to assume the duties, and mingle in the conflicts of the world. And what are the prospects that await you there? Will your revered preceptors be compensated, for their faithful and untiring efforts, by the enviable eminence and well earned honours of your future course, or will sad experience prove that their fruitless labours have been bestowed on sterile and ungrateful soil? Will your fond parents be rewarded for their devoted solicitude and unceasing care, by your brilliant fulfillment in manhood, of the flattering promises of youth, or are they destined to mourn the disappointment of their most cherished hopes? These are problems it is true which time alone can determine; but their solution notwithstanding, and consequently the probable complexion of your whole career, may be affected measurably, by the exercises and impressions of the present hour. This reflection has solemnized my mind. It has given me a deep sense of the responsibility I have incurred, by consenting to occupy this station, not only to you, but to all who are interested in your welfare. As your own characters and fortunes will be necessarily identified with your conduct, so it is impossible to estimate the extent to which your influence and example may operate, for good or for evil, upon the best interests of society, and especially upon the great cause of virtue and religion. It is all important therefore, that you enter upon life, not only with correct conceptions of the theatre upon which you will be called to act, but with all those principles, engraven on your hearts, of which, as they lie at the foundation of individual excellence and social order, the observance is equally and indispensably necessary to the enjoyment of happines, or the acquisition of renown. Under these circumstances, and in view of the grave consequences that may be connected with this ceremony, it is no affectation of humility to say, that the office, so kindly assigned to me, would have been better confided to one more competent than myself to communicate the lights of knowledge, and the admonitions of experience. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com