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I J..1 -V-'??? T r I. . L-l-l I I H- JJ -I ill I II [Vol.. I.] COLUMBIA* (S. C.) TUEfcAYTBEi'TEMIIKU 10? 1816. *T-r--r-i r?; j I I'^ii iM ' W\, [No# S8ij eftJl??? H? ggWHgWBg! ? ? 1 mfcimiiu www* nv TIIOMA%?\V. L0KUA1N. J\rmt of Subtcriptitm.?TjjijfcjlolliiM p?r winum,pay able In ailvuncc....Nu nyZfjWhr il.vcout'.mtfd, butit tlw? option oftlws RrtUcjff iiinftnHtunc.tra^-s arc b*Ul. (tot e.tcec?1:i>tf touriccu lilies, mv*rtc?l i lip ttttl time for sc vent)-five rents, uikI forty ccul|J??r jfccin^b^ucnt lpurtioii. to the K<IUijWpt'itt UMkl.qr the potUtfr svilllx'cliurgril to Wie writer. weWWlMBtort>^iM?w warn asamemmmtam jln Address to the ! At entry and Philosophical Society of Smith'Carolina, by Stephen Elliott, President of the Society, (Concluded from our last ) 4. Anatomy, Surgery* Physiology and Medicine. Of these sciences, man has always appeared duly to estimate llio value, 71'he tortures of pain, tho apprehensions of death, have led him, in alt stages of society, to fly to art for relief, to .yield himself submissively to real or pretended fkilt, and in all ages of ignorance, to worship, alpmst with divine honor*, the masters ami prin ciples of the " healing art.1' Guided by the of the splendor of mouuru improvement. What ever the most enlightened eye could scrutinize ami detect, whatever the most doxterous arm could execute,, may be found in their annals, monuments of their skill und matchless excel lence. lint tho progress of medicine has been mare questionable. There appenr to bo limits which we arc not permitted to jiasc, secrets we are not allowed to explore. 'I lie principle of lifo is still unknown, and that mysterious pow er, varying with every temperament* modified by every peculiar organization, seem* t?? give to disease, in each individual constitution, a dis tinct form, Hence it linn been dilTir.ult to give to medicine system } t?> form theories iilu?trat in;: tlx* causes, symptoms and termination of each disease : when disease itself, afleeted not only bv physical, but bv moral aginations, ex hibit* a? many anomalous aspect*.as human cha racter. or human feelings. Ilence, pethaps, in n<> ours'iit, lias successful practice di'pi'iided nun o*i personal sagacity, on Hie faculty of co'isi'iei iuy disease, not in the abstract, but as co'iibincd in every case, with individual consti tution, temper and habits. Theory after theory, has been swept away. The dogmatics, the em pirics, tin* eclectics are forgotten } the principles of mechanics ami of chemistry, the doctrines of vibration, of irritability, of excitability, have all been in?ufiicicnt to explain the phenomena of disease 5 and medicine still nlTcrs a wreath of unfading verdure to him vlio slmll be able to trac?? the hidden springs of life, to mark their developement, their expansion, their decay ; who shall explore tlio Intent sources of discus** shall arrange its associations, sbalt o\ptnln its modifications, shall counteract its eflbrts, and arrest its progress. \Vc mean ant, with Lord Hacon to say, that the labors bestowed on medi cine, have been all in circle rather than in pro gression. In physiology, in the matera medi ca, ill the treatment of many diseases, there hns doubtless been great improvement | but the foundations of the science are still unstable. The systems that have reduced medicine to one single principle, or practice, to one dominant doctrine, have proved but splendid quackeries. Of the diseases, which two thousand years ago, proved the scourges of our race, how few .have nren subdued $ and of the countless generations of man, how few are there, even excluding tlinse that perish bv violence or acciilent, who die from the natural decay of tho organs of life, who, having performed all their functions and fulfill ed all their duties, fall like autumnal leaves in the fulness of days and of maturity. 5. Agriculture and Rural Economy. I'o tho connection between agriculture ami the physiology and phiUophy of plant*, I have already alluded. The fundamental principle* of this art arc every where the naino ; but wo find in the practical details, a thousand varia tion*. A difference of climate, of tempera ture, of exposure j a predominance of heat, of eotd, moUture, of drynes*, all tend to produce, new modes of culture, to require now objects of cultivation. In all countrie* tint leading fea tures of agriculture, the preparation of the soil, the application of manure*, the rotation of crops are similar ; hut in practice, we find every plant possessing a peculiar habit, and requiring nn appropriate culture. In a new country, like our?, where in the climate, the soil, the articles of cultivation, and more espec ially in the culti vator* themselves, we differ widely from those nation*, from whom wo have been accustomed to derive our information, it is peculiarly impor tant to record our own practice and experience. Nor i* it successful experiment only, that we ought to relate. It is often as useful to perpe tuate our failures, a** our sucrose* : to buoy the shoals and reefs of an extended const, jis to mark the channels. From the want of a written record, much of the knowledge of our fathers (?as already been forgotten { and there ar?* ma ny points, belonging not only to the main, but to the collateral branches of this subject, on "which we want information. The embankment and recovei v ol our extensive mar?ht>s t the draining of our deep swamp*: the con\ersioo of our sand v pine barrens into pasturage, if not j into tillage: the impto*einent of our present mode* of cuituie s the introduction of new oh jects of cultivation j the rotation of crops most suitable to our agriculture t the melioration of i*if itock ; the permanent em Insure of our lands, the foundation of all good firming j the formation of meadows j ami the general im provement of our niral ecotinmv, are all ohjer.fs of important inquiry. The tardim ?? with which in an enlightened age, new modes or articles of cultivation are. introduced into dillvrent cctn trie*, appears to Jfflfoecting mind, ? subject real astonishment/ 'This state was nettled] hundred and thirt^yefh before the cotton plq waa cultivated a? letup. We are now wondj iiiK at thersucc^df Uie augar cane. We in' no sUk,?y*rafcm<S rtt'eat experiments have k. on my mlndvho tftijubt of tnc perfect adaptatU of our climate to the silk worm. Many of " cerealia and leguiujnnus plants of Asia, and the south of Uuropc, have never yet cultivated oh our plantationa ? manv varieties e fruit, even or tliimo raised in Europe, are uttj known in our gardens. How important woulu it be to a young country, to have, even at the expense of government, a real 'experimental farm, wlicre tne leading object should be, not at] much to impr&vo tho actual cultivution of tlfy plants, now forming the common crops of tho country, (this may, perhaps, bo safely left f individual exertion) aa to ascertain and intr ducc every plant useful'.for food, for meriicic or in the arts, which could bo raised in our cow try in 4.he open air t and to endeavor to naturtj ieo those which at first appear too delicate support tho variations of our climate. , 0. fariihtrce, Manufacture*, art J Internal JVW vigatiun. On the importance of these subjects, it is un necessary to dilate, Of commerce, tliis bond which connects all nations, this animating prin ciple which vivifies every region that it touches, which gives plenty to tlio barren rock, and a humlance to the sandy desert, I shall only re mark, that although its practice untl arrange* ments are always most advantageously left to the enterpi i/.e <?f the merchant; yet? wlille from tin* researches, and discoveries of science, from the skill of the artist, and from the labors of the agriculturist, commerce derives its materials and powers of action j there tire many things in its principles, many in it* detail*, much of its information, and much of its exertion that me rit a record. Manufacture* require much attention { and from the state of society in our country, much judgment to select ami promote those peculiarly adapted to our situation. The power and wealth of u great empire may change, or even reverse the natural order ol manufacturer ; may nurse them in Imtheds, may furnish them with artifi cial warmth, may rear them to premature per fection, may supply the calls of luxury, or ad minister to the splendid wants of magnificence, before tho necessary arts of social life have gain ed an establishment. Jlut with us they umi rise by their own strength, by their adaptation t? our wants and our resources ; tif our mateii al*. ami to our lalxtr. It i? wise in every tntim todhersifv the pursuits of its citizens,"to mu, tiply the links that connect them to each other,1 to render them as independent, as possible, of fortigti nations, to enuole them to ?up|?V) rttcir mutual wants by mutual exchanges. Deplora ble would be the situation of that country, m heir tho citizens pursuing but a few great objects of culture or of art, and depending for the supply of every other want on foreign resources j de pending for the exchange of their own imlutf try on foreign commerce j .should find thee channels intercepted by war, or internal regu lations | they would then have to purchase, *t exorbitant prices, every article of common my cecity, ami have nothing to offer ijp< exchange but those productions, of which every neighbor has alreatly a superfluity. ; Tho improvement of our internal navigntiol i* one of those great objects in which every co tiz.cn must feel some interest, and from whicj every individual would derive some per*ofi|l advantage. Jiy facilitating the intercourse bij tween the distant portions of our country, bfr lessening the expense and risk of transports (ion, the articles of consumption, whether of ne cessity, of convenience, or of luxury, which they severally furnish, will be more easily at tainable t and many -productions which mut, from the want of a market, command no price, and obtain no attention', would then become sources of profit to individuals, and of benefit to the country. The principles on which these improvements ought to be conducted, afford at all times a subject of important inquiry. The first efforts in the progress of society, are, of course, directed 10 clear away the obstructions which naturally, or artificially, occur in the streams which can be rendered navigable. The exertions of improved and opulent communi* ties, are employed, to intersect a country, in every possible direction, by navigable canals i Overcoming, by science nml labor, the obstacles of nature. In these enterprises, some of the highest and most surprising eflotl.s of human power and ingenuity have been displayed. To accomplish these objects, man raise* the valley, levels the hills diverts the stream, perforate* the mountain : he leads the river in unaccus tomed channels, and the bird of the air views the white sail of commerce usurping her accus tomed haunts. Few count' ies are capable of such extensive improvements in internal navigation as our own. Forming* fiom the nioon'?ins to the ocean, an almost reKol.Hly inclined plain, it is in thepow i i nf ait tmliveit our streams from their \ery MiurcH. to poor them into canals, to distribute and diirrt (hem at pleasure, and to supply them w ith water, not o-ilv sufficient for their own con sumption, hut to form innumerable mill seats, where pnver cd?? be regulated by system, free from tlie evils, either of want or superfluity.? When compared with rivers, at least above die progress of the tides, canals, from their sccuii tv from accident, from the directness of their course, from their exemption from the influence of curients or of winds, and from the certainty with which voyages on them can be made, have great advantages. Ilence, they have always been favorite enterprises in all countries, where mt i r.K * ? 1th *adL population have permitted their Wjf?- Geography, Topcgtnphy *knd Jtrtl ?a/,: S qultiei. X ? * ry arid geography now form bo iinpor (1 necessary n part of liberal education, ey want no illustration, and rc<|uhco iio While history teitclie#? by.,e*pcri r.the most unerring* thniigf^ perhaiw the wril0d> of all preceptors, the highest Important truths i vhilo she delineates in, not by professions or opiiiipnn, Old, invarying tenor and principles of humijt con luctf white sho raises n consoling or a Warn* Ing voice, anjl reflects, from the pust, it gay or a lights over the prospects of the futurej thronologyind geography give to K^lesson# jucid ?rae? and comprehensive inalruiCtion.?? LVMlf coqfijfttoByitemft of these, or of thriir ' IrMbt'&mhes of topograph v and antiquities, ^otjrjpin the }(mits of our association, jy Scattered fragments, many de ny, local illustrations, that dis Views. Manv of t|to Tacts at sfettlomont ov our Country are 4N Mtfohof the knowledge we tod arc forgetting, will bt? intercat Jd|NHty. Of the location and ancient lltfont oLthe aborigine* of thin country, we to/lOJiccvate memorials. Of their original incvfenaifc facto res, we liavc Tew or no spe* ithe topography of our country we deficient, in our geography very . have no mans of our country oil f!j|lace any reiinncc; no surveys, iien coaBt, which have any proton* pty. The illustrations, or re tell of science, on any of these sub* Ml cheerfully record, Iters* tjinjruages* ancient awl mo fl Education public ami private. I severer sciences promote the im* Ind power of society, poetry, orato* |Hte literature, improve and adorn W individual. They form the charm und cm *" 1" " t of social interf"?P'to, they refine, ? polish loe understanding } they add ^ergy to thought, brilliancy and life () they give to their possessor* tl.at society, which vanity and ambition in moments of national danger, or national ebtliiiHiaHiiu they sometimes exeni*e over the moral world, an awful and unbounded power. Thoy form, at once, the fulcrum and lever of Archimcdes. Hut these are personal talents, and in a great degreo unconnected witli the state of aociety, whose progress they noi- j thcr iccelcptc nor retard-; lor they occasional ly fla?b thjouuh the gloomy td umber of the in tel'ectual world, and while they leave behind' impermanent reflection, dazzle the more from t!?u coifirtftf ?f ?... rounding night. In free uo lernment*, they wilt niwayn be muiiiuO ; do rp cure in particular, the great instrument of | power, with emulation and zeal. Hut their prin jciple*. their nature, and their ohjccts, deserve u careful and enlightened investigation. language, the peculiar faculty of man, the or i*aH l?y which he acquires, and by which he com municates nil his knowledge, merits distinguish ed at'ftition. It should be militated with as siduous care, it should be refined and improved with unremitted labor. As all modern lan guages are composed of the wrecks and frag ment* of other languages, assimulated and ag gregated in Jtges of ignorance, thev partake of tliO rudeness nud imper lection of' their native materials* awl cannot ho fashioned to that stand ard of excellence, which even our imporfect knowledge could model ; yet, to this point our labors should tend. We should endeavor to render language simple in its principles, varied in its combinations, definite in it* meaning, har monious in its arrangement, energetic in its structure. It should afford to every expression a distinct idea \ to every idea an appropriate expression. Languages are said to be keys of knowledge. An extensive acquaintance with them renders common what is local, gives to the present the improvements of the pust, unfolds in short, the wisdom and instruction of all ages and nations. I<ct us obtain them ; but let us not* however, ^oppose that languages themselves, are the great objects of our pursuit. They are means, not emU } they are tho casket, not the jewel f they are the instruments of the workman, not the work itself 1 yet they merit a place in all MVS- j terns of education, from thuir intrinsic useful-1 ness ; from the facility with which they can be acquired, at an age in which the memory is more active than the judgment \ and from the proba bility that, in their acquisition, young |>errtons will"be obliged to study critical!) and profound ly the best models of coin|H>sition wliicn wo pos* sess 1 the finest memorials which genius and laste have left of their existence. They de serve also to he studied, because the. principles of most languages arc so nearly similar, that the knowledge of one aids the acquisition of <1 thers j because it is probable that no modern tongue can he philosophically investigated, or thoroughly understood, without the lights which other languages will reflect upon it { and be cause the acquisition of languages, an acquisi tion which may be obtained at an age when the understanding is incapable of high exertions, affords so many gi at i fictitious in future life, that no one who possesses the advantage appears e ver to regret the timo or labor which was be stowed on its attainments. In a republic, education should beromc a na tional concern. In 110 other form of govern ment is it so important that instiuctiou should lie universally diffused, that it should enlighten the deceptive'mists and overwhelming shadows of ignorance, that it should correct the false views and otdiquo paths of prejudice* that it should remove the errprs of ? unerstition, and above all, that it ahould teach the inseparable connection of liberty and virtue. Education ?hould be early,'that ittlroprewdona may-be per* innncht | it should be profound, that ita imprea ftiona may be true t it should embrace the itn movements of each passing hour, that we may keep tojtfy with our f\va1* in peace and war; it should be national, that our flrat feeling* and soneationa may be the love of our country. A complete system of national education ia one of the great desiderata of our ago. 9. Fine Art*. The fine arts, painting, engraving, sculpture, architecture, music, multiply the pleasuies ant! enjoyments of life, and give to society som$ of its choicest embellishments j but it in not for a muscmcnt,'solely, that they should be cultivat ed. Tliftjr are capnble of nobler exertions j? they sjioulil be directed to better purples. Fainting and sculpture address themselves di rectly and powerfully to the senses t thev can appeal to tne strongest impulses of thu Wart. Speaking a universal language, alike intelligible to ignorance tavisdom their influence isexteiibivo & "their effect* Important. They ehould be taught, to exhibit' examples df viitue, of fortitude, of juMtice. They snould rise above thu sordid or criminal pursuits of man. They should assume the tone of a master, not proft'M- the adulation of a hlave. Their abuses should he in?>st cau tiously restrained } for, when they become the painters of vice or voluptuousness, they realUo the fictions of ( rpas, and diffuse, wherever they extend, a pestilential noison. Must of the fine arts t,*lvance regularly with the progress of ci>ili/.ation t others, like paint ing, frequently possess more energy and subli mity in the infancy of Roc.iety i at that period when the fenling* nre but little softened or con trolled l?v the refinements of social life, in tlie age of impassioned poetry, and amidst the dai ly exhibitions of sublime virtue and atrocious guilt. As, however, these arts are in general, not only the companions of highly refined so cieties," but require the fostering aid of wealth to bring them to maturity, wc can scarcely hop? in our day and country to sec specimens of their high power* ; yet of these, as of v.very other art or science, the fundamental principles may l>e studied, and should be understood. If \?e can* not enrich the painter or engraver, or give to the architect an enlarged theatre for his talent*, wo should endeavor to apply the principles of art to all objects to wlticft they arc applicable. To give, to our feelings, to our taste, to our judg ment, correctness. Such, gentemen, are the objects embraced by jour association, such the field presented for our researches. In this wide range of literature, and science, there is no human civilised being, wh?i?vpr may h? his condition, hi* profession, hi* avocations, his pursuits, who has not some interest. Science would give new skill and va* iuo to the labors of the mechanic, new resources to tho enterprise of tho man of business, new dignity to the leisure to the man of wealth, new enjoyments to the man of pleasure, new pow? ers to the man of exertion } and yet how many are there, who turning from some of the paths of xrience, with aversion and horror, as too dif ficult, too laborious to be trodden, and consider* ing others as too insignificant, or too obscure, to be worth exploring | who finding every useful acquirement above or beneath their capacitics, pass their Hives in ignorunce or vice, hiding most carvtully the talent which has been committed to their trust t neglecting the duties they owe to society, and their country ; and debasing those facilities, by which alono they arc honora bly distinguished in the works of creation. lu crmited nature, man alone deserts his high sta tion, man alone hctruys his dignity and rank, lu the tribes of irrational animals, each indivi dual fills his allotted space, distinguished per haps from his fellows by trilling grades of swift-* nessor of strength ; but between thnt height to which man may soar, and that valley of moral tk intellectual degradation to which lie may de scend, immeasurable is the hpacc. Yet great ns may lie tho influence of science on personal character, its effects on society are still more powerful and determinate. It was the observation of one of the wisest mon of mo dern ages, it was ait aphorism of lord Hacon* that knowledge is power. No axiom is inoro generally true in ifs individual, none more cer tainly true in its national application. Know ledge is Power. How wouncrful the different') between tho poor, nnked, wandering savage, trembling before the elements, which in terror lie adores, depending on his solitary, unaidt '1 exertions, for food, for arms, for raiment, for shelter, and the civilised man, who, strong in the science)) and resources of society* rides o ver the ocean, even on the wings of the toin pest } di??rins tho lightning of its power? as cends the airy canopy of heaven t penetrates into the profound caverns of the earth ; arms himself with the power of the elements s makes fire, and air. and earth, and water, his minister ing servants j and standing, as it were, or. tho confine*, of nature, seems, as by a ma^ic talis man, to give energy and life to the brute ele ments of matter. It is not from the simple products of the ftirth* or from the crude materials with which a coun try may abound, that her |M?war nn^l resources ;tiust arise. The most productive. Jlkjuiis have frequently been the most weak atfjfttMtfndant. The blessings of nature may lie blmtyd by thw ignorance or lolly of man. A natiWi yjrtfijtucek for wealth aipl power, bv cnroursgitijf t$tr ac Jiu' and profound knowledge^ which avd^aiiir ing the principles, the proportions, the comnffU* tions, the affinities of tho mineral; tho habits, the productions, tho qualities, the tixcs of the