MILITARY EDUCATION: ITS PECULIAR ADVANTAGES IN THE STUDY OF yikntnn, ^riena, aiiir %xts. AN ADDRESS, DELIVERED BEFORE THE MILITARY EDUCATIONAL CONVENTION, HELD AT WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, SEPTEMBER Gth, 1853. BY . : ; i ARCHER aiFFORH, OF NEWARK, NEW-JERSEY. “The assembly to which I address myself is too enlightened not to be fully sensible how much a flourishing state of the Arts and Sciences contributes to national prosperity and reputation. • • • • In proportion as the observance of pacific maxims might exempt a nation from the necessity of practising the Rules of Military Art, ought to be its care in preserving, and transmitting by proper establishments, the knowledge of that avt.— President Washington's Eighth Message to Congress. BUNNELL & PRICE, 121 FULTON STREET. 1 8 5 3 . v M- Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates F https://archive.org/details/militaryeducatioOOgiff W0V2fJf^ 35-^07 c < EXTRACT FROM THE MINUTES OF THE MILITARY EDUCATIONAL CONVENTION, Held at Wilmington, Del., September 6, 1853. Resolved, That the thanks of this Convention be tendered to Mr. Gifford, for his able and erudite Address ; and that Col. A. Duryee and Prof. A. J. Robinson be appointed a Committee to solicit a copy of the same for publication. E. T. SUDLER, President. W. W. Benjamin, A. J. Robinson, I Secretaries. The undersigned, as a Committee of the Educational Convention assembled at Wilmington, have the honor to request for publication a copy of the Address deliivered by you on that occasion. Respectfully, A. DURYEE. A. J. ROBINSON. To Archer Gifford, Esq. Brandywine, Sept. 7, 1853. Gentlemen, In compliance with your request, I have the honor to submit to your disposal a copy of my Address delivered at Wilmington. Very respectfully. Your obedient servant, ARCHER GIFFORD. Col. A. Duryee. Prof. A. J. Robinson. Brandywine, Sept. 7, 1853. 4 ■ Y “ THAT I CALL A COMPLETE AND GENEROUS EDUCATION, WHICH FITS A MAN TO PERFORM JUSTLY, SKILFULLY, AND MAGNANIMOUSLY, ALL THE OFFICES BOTH PRIVATE AND PUBLIC, OF PEACE AND WAR.” — Milton. SWrfSs How active and restless is the human mind 1 Observe the little child; scarcely has language given utterance to thought, when the spirit of incpiiry becomes percep- tible in its animated countenance, and eager attention to every object within the range of its vision. As time hastens on, frequent and pertinent questions show the dawn of intellect, and often cause our wonder and our admiration of its precocity of reason and judgment. Baffled in the pursuit of its inquiries, the child is not dis- couraged, but seeks some other avenue for the knowledge it would have. Action follows ; and soon, conscience ap- pears to exercise its sway over the will and the subtle passions of our nature, and gives us assurance that a soul is there for good or evil. We may well then commend the wisdom of that Ro- man custom which committed the care of children, until a certain age, only to females ; and, in the highest ranks of society, to those matrons who were distinguished alike for their virtue and attainments, confiding to their care those engaging objects of innocence and integrity, ever teaching them to be tractable and submissive, forming their manners, and instilling habits of attention to every 6 subject tliat could be of advantage to them, and render them useful and honorable in society. We may be allowed to dwell uj)on this subject, as it is the broad platform upon which is to be based the su- perstructure of Education, which has been defined by our Webster, “to comprehend all that series of instruc- tion and discipline wdiich is intended to enlighten the understanding, correct the temper, and form the man- ners and habits of youth, and fit them for usefulness in their future stations or, in the golden language of the Stagyrite, “ man’s ornament in prosperity, and refuge in advei'sity.” And they whose business it is to act as our teachers, and as professors in this cause, may well desire tlie best material for the application of their work ; such as the youth who has, from his earliest years, been taught to form habits of obedience ; to distinguish between the ' effects produced by causes of moral and evil tendency ; to subdue sensual gratifications, and to control his con- fiicting passions, and to know that he is to take an active part in the affairs of life. It is, perhaps, owing to a neglect of this early pre- paration, that the hopes of many fond parents have been disappointed. They have rather perverted than con- formed to the wholesome maxim, that “ there is a time for all things,” and have neglected their own part in the proper employment of that time, by contributing to quicken every new impulse of the youthful mind, by satisfying the first desire for knowledge, however imper- fectly expressed; by the kindest correction of every wayward act; fixing the attention upon every useful subject in some attractive manner, and yet not so as to 7 interrupt tlie playful diversions of childliood, but to make tliem subservient to tlie purposes of education ; or, in other words, literally commencing that education, and opening the way for loftier attainments. Let him who has, by the successful labors of the mind, attained a pro- minent and respected station in society, revert to the period of his childhood, and he will discover the early source of his prosperity in the devoted and watchful mother, or in some kind assiduous female friend, who nurtured the principles which have since been the guide and protection of later years. And it is little to be questioned, that the renowned mothers of the Gracchi, of Julius Caesar, and of Augustus, by their early super- vision, originated the fortunes of those distinguished men, whose achievements have so blazoned the pages of the past. It is thus that the youthful mind becomes prepared for future improvement. Early and seasonable restraint begets habit, which, in time, becomes a second nature, and fits the mind to be the recipient of wisdom and knowledge So truly did the ancient Spartans consider this devotedness to youth as a primary duty, and as a point of national policy, that when, as we are told. An- tipater demanded of them a certain number of their children as hostages, they desired, rather, that the terms should be, as many more in number of well-trained sol- diers ; so highly did they prize the education of their children, and zealously guard against the corruption of their morals. A few more years have passed away, and the child has arrived at that period of life’s first great effort, 8 wlieu tlie allurements of tlie world are to be resisted, by a stern and vigorous resolution ; and vdien tbe pro- pensities to self-interest and aggrandizement, require to be regulated and curbed by a strong moral sense of riglit. The vast volume of the universe is now laid open to his more matured mind, and he is urged forward on the track which ambition has pointed out as the Highway to fame and emolument. Opinions are now delivered by him, with the confidence of the full-grown man ; and the instructor has to assume the painful, or the pleasurable duty, as habits may have been ripened, of directing his future progress. The youth may, at this period, be made to understand the nature of man’s great business in life ; that he is the object of Divine and of Human Laws, and that he is bound to obey those laws ; that he has a duty to perform, in acts or forbearances, constituting a triple relation, — to his Maker, his Neighbor, and himself ; to himself^ as requiring the study of his own physical and moral being ; to his neighbor^ the knowledge of every subject that can make him useful and agreeable, in his civil, social and domestic relations ; to his Maker ^ the improvement of every faculty, with that undivided love which prompts to continued acts of gratitude and praise. What system, then, can best accomj^lish the perfec- tion of these objects ? Here we enter upon a subject, as fruitful of controversy as the attributes of man can make it ; Avhether it be the Course of Study ; the early or late cultivation of the mind ; whether the Student should be left free and unrestrained, or guarded by proper rules and regulations ; and whether under pri- 9 vate or public instruction. To this end Schools have been re-modified ; Elementary Works have been sought out and devised ; Normal Teachers have been graduat- ed ; modern improvements of School Structures adopted ; and withal, we have had Legislative enactments, and resolutions of societies established for the encourage- ment of learning. These are the subjects which, at this day of letters, occupy the mind of the Philanthropist, and, (may I not say ?) of the Politician ; — an omen of the increasing popularity of a cause which is to operate for the good of mankind. But it is not our intention to enter the lists for a discussion of these subjects, which are deservedly engaging the attention of the most distinguished men of our country. We may best seek for the solution of the proposed question, in the ex- perience of by-gone times, and in their Institutions, and those which now exist, and, from a consideration of their advantages and abuses, endeavor to ascertain that which may now be made most available to the Scholar, and to his country. No truth is oftener presented to us, than this, — that man is a social being. He is, indeed, adapted to society, both by his physical and mental conformation ; without society, his education would tend only to his misery ; in this world of harmonious laws, he would be continually discovering the beautiful arrangements of its Creator, and “ searching out all perfection,” without that inter- course which imparts delight, and excites to deeper draughts of wisdom. No matter how secluded he may be by his own wants, and those of his fellow-men, he is brought continually into a communication with them. 10 either in the peaceful circle of a country village, or in the concentrated mass of a town or city. It is agree- able to Nature then, that knowledge should be most readily obtained by such intercourse ; and we find, in every age, that the social system, however limited may be the subjects which have been taught, as well by the Priests of Egypt, the Sophists and Philosophers of Gireece and Pome, the Persian Magi, and the Indian Bramins, as in all the Colleges of modern times, has been approved and practised, as most effectual for culti- vating the mind, and best calculated to stimulate an ardor of pursuit necessary for the attainment of excel- lence ; by furnishing the means of a comparison, and assimilation of views ; by associations which form the foundations of future intimacies and friendships ; by stirring up the sympathies of the heart, which tend to relieve the oppressed and indigent, and thus plentifully storing the mind, and qualifying the student for the part which he may be called upon to perform as a citizen. The solitary student may have avoided dangerous ex- amples, but he has not discovered the depths of his own passions, nor the policy of regulating them. He may have studied, in his closet, the Philosophy of Man ; but he has not tried the spirits of the world, with whom he has to grapple in afterlife; he may have had the ad- vantage of exclusive attention devoted to him by Instruc- tors, and yet lack the independence of a mind thrown upon its own resources, the energy and spirit to be derived from a participation with others in their labors, and the warmth that is generated by opposition. If 11 our sons are hereafter to mingle with the people of the world, they should be previously qualified for such inter- course, by some knowledge of those who are to be their fellows, and of what may be of advantage to the public, as well as to themselves. It is so in the ordinary affairs of life; we do not prepare the candidate for a Profession or a Trade, without first instructinof him in all the technicalities, and initiating him into all the mysteries of his calling. And if the proper study of mankind is man,” we cannot expect him to be even tolerably proficient in that complex and most difiicult of all attainments, without constant intercourse with his fellow-creatures, in the season of youth, when the heart expands with generous emotions, and is undis- guised by chicanery and deceit. We may trace the existence of Seminaries of Learn- ing, to the primitive schools of the Prophets in Pales- tine ; and, from that period, through a Priestly organiza- tion, continued by the Pabbis of the synagogue, to the captivity of Babylon. And, although we have evidence of the cultivation of science among the Chaldeans, the Indian and other ancient nations, in the Braminical learning that exists at this day; from the fact, that the Jewish law-giver was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, (of whose refinement we have scriptural ac- counts, and also proofs in the enrichment by her Ptolemies, of that magnificent treasury of knowledge, the Alex- andrian Library ;) and, although we read of the accom- plishments of the Persian Cyrus ; of the attainments of the sages of Athens and Borne ; and of the Academies, in those times, (which were rather the resort of pro- 12 ficients in learning, than the means of cultivating its rudiments,) no general organization of schools was known to exist, until about the fifth century, when they were established by the Emperor Theodosius, in whose reign the Christian Clergy sought to break down what they denominated a heathenish education. From that time, they continued, in most countries, under what has been termed a Conventual System. We do not mean that strict monopoly of education which was in the hands of the Clergy during the mediaeval ages ; but we refer to a continued effort by them to control it. Without giving any Historical Detail, it would appear that these Sacerdotal Schools, with their own peculiar views of the uses of knowledge, have not included that attention to certain branches of science, and their practi- cal benefits, which are essential to the commonwealth. And it is remarkable, that, from the time of Henry VHL, when the light of civilization and when freedom of opinion first began to be diffused over the world ; when the art of Printing had so multiplied the means of mental improvement ; when Peligious Toleration had loosed the bands which had, for so long a period fettered the intellectual energies of men ; it is remarkable that there should have existed such reverence for institutions of a Monachal character, and such adherence to them, which have elaborated the deepest knowledge in certain studies, without any realization of their uses to the scholar, who has been fitted to contribute but little to the general wants of society, beyond what may be termed university knowledge. “It is (says Adam Ferguson) peculiar to Modern Europe, to rest much of the human 13 character on what may be learned from the informa- tion of Books. We endeavor, through the grammar of dead languages, and the channel of commentators, to arrive at the beauties of thought and elocution, which sprung from the animated spirit of society, and were taken from the living impressions of an active life. Our attainments are frequently limited to the elements of a science, and seldom reach to that enlargement of ability and power, which useful knowledge should give ; as Mathematicians who study the Elements of Euclid, but never think of mensuration. We read of societies, but do not propose to act with men. We repeat the language of politics, but feel not the spirit of nations. We attend to the formalities of Military Dis- cipline, but know not how to em^^loy numbers of men to obtain any purpose by stratagem or force.” Is it not so ? Look over that immense throng of literary men, who have drank deej)est of those celebrated fountains of wisdom which have existed dn Europe; men whose capacious minds would appear to have been constituted for compassing eyery untried mystery of Science, and by means of high general education, qualified to peer into every avenue of knowledge. How many of these have been conspicuous in the emergencies of their coun- try ? — in her Armies ; her Navies ; her Public Councils ? Who have been her Historians, Poets, and Biographers ? Here and there among those who have been brought to notice by the contending elements of society, may be found one, who has, more by force of native genius, than by scholastic acquirements, achieved for the Public good 14 what he might have produced, as the result of any other previous course of instruction. A general position that the university system, as hith- erto conducted, may best lay the foundation for future usefulness, is not to be evidenced by a few graduates who have become distinguished in after life ; nor is it the result of any process of reason, that a course of study and regimen which confines the faculties to science, or accomplishment of mind, without any admixture of such exercises as may direct the application to civil life, and yet remits so much to the student’s voluntary efforts, can be of great subsequent practical advantage. Col- leges and Schools should be organized and conducted, not only for towering genius to excel in learning, and then to choose a calling, but for the education of the masses, with all degrees of intellect and disparities of circumstance, with a view to their future action as co- workers in society. They are, or ought to be, the great laboratories which contain the correctives of a natural resistance in the human mind ; and to aid the study of science by the observations of nature. They have the power to try out the ability of the student, where it lies buried under his own indistinct view of its importance, or his own indisposition to act; and they are intended rather to aid the struggles of a Murray, or a Ferguson, in their upward and toilsome course, than to strew with flowers the classic pathway of a Porson, or an Elmsley. By this social system we may see what has been done by Colleges, in particular departments of science, and how much might have been effected, were it not for an 15 almost exclusive attention to Book-knowledge and form- al prelections, or rather the absence of all their practical advantages. It is true, that the Public has become awakened to the importance of establishing seminaries which may remedy these disadvantages and produce a practical bearing upon the life and manners of the rising generation ; and yet, it will hardly admit of a question, that the system of these long-honored and deeply-endowed universities can be superseded, or that their influence will not be extended to others in this country, as in England. But this exclusiveness has been made an objection to other institutions in foreign countries. The Na- tional University, founded by Napoleon in France, with its Lyceums, originally failed in its designs, (although afterwards it was modifled under more successful auspices,) because it was constructed on military prin- ciples alone, and as little fitted to promote the true purposes of education, as the monastic narrovv^ness of former ages. “ The Clergy (he said) regard this world as a mere Diligence which is to convey us to the next ; it must be my business to fill up the public carriage with good recruits for my army.” And yet, the Dili- gence proved impracticable under this strict military rule, because of the very objection that was raised to Clerical management ; its limited views which prevented the full development of mind, and only satisfied the one idea of its founder. A lamentable defection may also be witnessed under what may be considered an experimental Government at this period, not far remote from us. The prudential 16 foresight of Petion liad caused to "be established, at Hayti, a School and Lyceum which combined all the advantages of useful instruction for civil of military life, and which was approved and followed by his successor Boyer, for periods together comprising more than thirty years, during which time there was clear indication of a healthful progress in the advancement of the intellect, and civilization of this unfortunate people. But within ten years past. Imperial Buie has supplanted the Bepub- lic ; and, with its exclusive military teaching, as well as its conscriptive j)ower, and maudlin assumption of Boy- alty, has destroyed the Freedom of the Press, and Elective Franchise, (the two great pillars of a happy government ;) and has left to education, as to liberty, but a name. Without giving particulars, we may remark that in Bussia and Austria, as in France and Spain, (where the jealous spirit of the government obstructs all freedom of inquiry, and discussion of public laws and political econ- omy,) it has been well observed “ that the exertion of the human intellect has been fettered by coercing its energies, and, by its Procrustean policy, has attem]3ted to mould every capacity after the same model.-’ And in Prussia, where schools have been nationalized, and their organization is equal to that of any country in the world, there exists the same indisposition to infuse, throughout the mass of the people, those princq^les Avhich are calculated to elevate the mind, and purify the heart and its affections. Hence, as we see some of the l)est educated men who have escaped from the rigorous bondage of these countries, are here, incapable of apply- 17 ing themselves for subsistence to any professional busi- ness, but, with all their eminent attainments, are sub- jected to the humblest traffic, or to manual labor. We may justly conclude, then, that under the monarchies of Europe there are defects in the process of education, which prevail either from the absence of a liberal course, a monopoly by the clergy, or a seated and, j^er- haps, politic jealousy of the government. In this coun- try, where there is no Clerical or Military espionage, we are in rapid progress upon the utilitarian principle, in all our seminaries of learning ; and Ave have endeavored to adopt, in our schools, every feasible plan, from sources of experience abroad, or whatever our own inge- nuity could devise, for facilitating the advancement of mind. Nor have our colleges assumed those great objec- tionable features which have characterized the univer- sities of Europe, however preeminent they may be in the cultivation of their favorite sciences. But, are. we pre- pared to say, that our seminaries are entirely free from this exclusiveness, or are perfect in discipline, and in the means of instruction in those duties which constitute the great principle of life ? We Avell may acknowledge the advantages and benefits they aftbrd ; but we may as readily sujDpose that, by a further exercise of judicious regulations, the mind could be trained to a better sense of its own powers, and the application of them to future purposes. I mean — especially, under that discipline by which Time is fully appreciated and employed, — Health is promoted and preserved — the Constitu- tion AND Laavs of the country are familiarly under- stood — Keligious principle inculcated, and habits of 2 18 Industry and Self-Control are acquired and fixed, where by nature they do not exist. Allow me to speak of these in their order. How brief a part of the day is usually consumed in the actual exercises of an Academic Course ! The remainder of it is devoted to the resuscitation of the physical and mental energies, in various modes, and in such measure as the disposition of each student may prompt. And yet, nature has so established its rules and laws to that end, and so well defined them, that it is a cause of wonder and regret, that they have not been made the special subject of consideration and practice in all our seats of learning. They are not, indeed, popular with the young candidate for an Academic Course, who has the choice of the institution with which he would be connected, and who prefers the most elegant ease. But a proper understanding of man’s constitution will satisfy us, that a regard to economy of time has its profit in improving the smallest portions of it to afford the great- est amount of acquirement. “ Gather up the fragments,” is a truly available motto for him who looks far into fu- turity for a requital of his labors. The vast ocean is an accumulation of drops. The longest life is a sum of the minutest periods of time. If it is true that Idleness is the mother of many evils, how jealously should it be guarded against by wholesome regulations! The re- mark of Socrates to the youth whom he observed to be alone and unemployed, is of itself a homily : — Young man, beware ; for you are in the worst of com- pany,” The mind should ever be in a state of readiness 19 to receive instruction; for, without this preparation, nothing can well be apprehended or retained. It is, as it were, (to use the words of an eminent divine,) to read the beautiful periods of Tully to a dull and senseless animal. It may be said, that, by a rigid system, we cramp the pliancy of the mind, which should be unencumbered with any scholastic machinery ; but what mean the parental restraints of our early years ? What mean the conven- tional rules and forms which every where surround us, when entering upon the study of any branch of useful learning or art ? And what means the acknowledged principle, which has been current from the highest au- thority for more than two thousand years, that “ it is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth ?” We know that we shall be opposed here, by the adages, “ Dulce est desipere in loco,” and “ The bow must be sometimes unbent,” with many others which are ever at hand to indulge the reluctance of nature to any exertion. We would not, however, be understood as opposing a new theory to these favorite maxims, so well accredited and honored by time. But there is a probationary period of ripening talent, the most immature stage of man’s existence, when stringent method may ensure the prom- ise of future excellence ; as, by constraint, the pliant twig is made to form the upright stately oak; and when, with all vigilance, the ojpere peracto ludemus^’’ or some such playful maxim, will claim and enjoy its full privilege. May we not presume, that had the benevo- lent Titus given these sayings a place among the princi- ples which governed his use of time, we should not have heard his memorable expression, (the warder of many a 20 noble heart in after time,) “My friends, I have lost a day.” The ways and means of instruction are not more jealously to be regarded, than the fleeting and irrevoca- ble moments that may be wasted in devising the appli- ances of education while the mind is sulfeiung an atro- phy for the want of that nourishment by which it may renovate itself. What then, — but to observe that sea- sonable care, that vigilant and anxious regard for the fractions of time, which judiciously applies them to every variety of mental labor, and which appropriates even the hours of relaxation, and converts them to the impi’ovement of the mind ? Another and essential consideration is, The Pee- SERVATioN OF Health. The importance of this subject may be estimated, by observing the capabilities of the genius of man, and his general disregard of health, when left to himself in the pursuit of some favorite and absorbing subject. He has scanned the heavens, “glowing with living sapphires,” and told their rela- tive positions, magnitudes, and distances, with mathe- matical accuracy ; and their revolutions, with the utmost precision that numbers could denote. He has reached the skies, and harmlessly 'drawn away its jnysterious electric fluid, to serve the purposes of earthly skill and ingenuity ; the pathway of the surging waters he has pursued ; and has explored the mighty ocean, through tempest and darkness, by the aid of that subtle and attractive power which he has discovered, to sustain and balance the earth in its revolutions. He has pene- trated the depths, and played the alchemist. “ Turning that meagre, cloddy earth, to glittering gold.” 21 And what might we not recount as the result of his talents and enterprise, in the application of these ele- ments ; by the power of Steam and of the Magnet, by which labor and distance have been rendered of small account ; and even thought is transmitted with the rapidity of time itself? And yet, the tenement of that mighty spirit has gone, with the unnumbered millions who have inhabited the earth, and has left to us this melancholy truth, that, with all his genius and wisdom, he never looked into himself, but j)erished untimely, by an utter neglect or ignorance of the rules which con- cern his Physical Health, which are inseparable from the existence and progress of the human mind. How true are the words of the learned Bacon, “ If by gaining knowledge we destroy our health, we labor for a thing that will be useless in our hands ; he that sinks his vessel, by overlading it, though it be with gold, and silver, and precious stones, will give its owner but an ill account of his voyage.” There is not a more melancholy spectacle than that presented by the young man who, with the glow of ambition and feverish hectic of disease struggling to- gether on his cheek, pursues his mental labors, with- out regard to sanitary rules and laws, which have become almost familiar maxims, and are sanctioned by the professional learning of ages. As he toils onward, and the chaplet of honor is about to rest upon his brow, he is insensibly beyond the power of any Physi- cal remedy ; for, alas ! too often the mortal worm is at the heart, before the bud begins to wither. Who are responsible for this sacrilice of life and talent ; an every- 22 day occurrence ? If liis constitution was frail, his system should not have been wasted by excessive application ; for we know that, by the observance of some pruden- tial rules, the feeblest constitutions have endured to old age, and have yet borne the severest labors of the mind. Galen, Cornaro, Fontenelle, and Watts, are eminent instances of what men, under the pressure of bodily infirmities, may accomplish, even after the age when they ordinarily desist from intellectual labor. There are many Literary Institutions which have their appointed hours for exercise and study, but do not assume any control over the remaining portions of the day and night, which they allow to be employed at pleasure, considering attention to health as a subject pro- per to be managed and corrected by the student’s own sense of propriety, or fit to engage the attention of none but the speculatist. Our picture may be considered as too vividly drawn ; but it is nevertheless true, that dis- ease, or decline of health, has frequently originated from such negligence, and might have been prevented by judicious regulations. The recent commission appointed to examine into the present administration of one of the English uni- versities, wdth a view to sound and beneficial legisla- tion, and which has exposed many of its abuses, and much of moral degradation, recommends a thorough reformation, ujDon an improved modified arrangement, as well for this purpose, as others. Our seminaries have not been negligent in this particular. The student is no where (in cases of residence) allowed to indulge his own taste and judgment in certain pleasures, which 23 are obviously destructive of health. Nor is he, in all such institutions, permitted to select his own hours for recreation or repose. These are partial advances in the march of reforma- tion. And we may well conceive of other meliorations, when, instead of wasting a long and tedious vacation, which comprises a considerable portion of the year, in listless and destructive ease ; in amusements that ener- vate the body and enfeeble the mind ; he might, under ■competent teachers, traverse our hills and mountains, taking their altitudes, exploring their vegetable and mineral productions, (those everlasting types, as termed by Wilmot, which Nature in her great printing press never breaks up,) tracing out the footprints of creation, in all their forms ; and thus, combining the principles of Mathematical Science with those of Natural Philoso- phy, by such a process of education, may continually “ Find tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, Sermons in stones, and good in every thing.” The advances which have been made by our com- mon school system, satisfactorily show what may yet be done. Whoever looks over a space of thirty years past, and remembers our crowded and un ventilated school-rooms, their inconvenient furniture, the meagre means and manner of instruction, and can now wit- ness the sweeping reformation of these abuses, must be awake to a sense of the necessity of further improve- ment. Health should never be a subject of indifPer ence, in any beneficent enterprise, while we have assur- ance that if there be one truth which has more of 24 divine imj)ress tlian another, it is, that the body is the temple of the soul ; — the Soul, which thinks, and prompts, and guides to action, and whose offices in this world are naught, without its wonderful and mysterious habitation. If, then, we consider the practicability of this reformation, and the number of valuable lives that may be saved to the commmiity, while we condemn the empiricism of the day, we may justly conclude, that the School or College that has regard for the rules and exercises which contribute to the preservation of health is much to be commended for our encouragement. Again, a proper discipline promotes a knowledge of our Constitution and Laws. The genius of our Govern- ment is truly preservative of peace, and the good order of civil society ; but to have it properly appreciated, the citizen should be familiarized with this Constitution and these laws. And it is thus as in the arts and sci- ences ; he should not only be made to understand it and its applications, but with a devoted zeal to learn its excellence, as he would the business which is to be his future employment ; to realize that our Magna Charta confounds the terms of Plebeian and Patrician, and extends its privileges alike to all ; to feel that in politics as in religion, the purity of its essence presumes the alembic of an honest heart, and that the stability of any government depends upon obedience to its laws, and the effort of every intelligent citizen to direct them for the preservation of those great civil and political rights, of Property, of Suffrage, and of Speech ; and, in a word, that true patriotism which “ seeketh not its own,” but in every respect deserves the rich apostolic 25 definition of the inestimable and godly virtue of Charity. The otfices and honors of his country are open to him. He may be chosen to represent the community in the Halls of Legislation, and maybe constantly called upon to fulfil certain duties, either in Courts of Justice, or under municipal regulations ; there are times, too, when, widely extended as our Kepublic is, with its great natural boundaries and its territorial interests, factions may light the torch of discord, more fearfully to be apprehended than an invading enemy. And questions of our domestic policy and diplomatic relations will then occur, which require the keenest perception of right, and course of action. Under such circumstances, we must not su23pose him to be ignorant of his rights and duties ; or to be deficient in presence of mind, or decision of character. But these qualities are not to be possessed intuitively; nor will his zeal or interest in them be quickened, unless at that period when the affections are warm, when other elements of knowledge are learned, and by a system which j)i’omotes his own self-resjDect, and an enlarged sense of the rights of his fellow-beings. As an encouragement to a discipline which facilitates the advancement of learning, it may be asserted, that if the highest exercise of our faculties can be relied on as the safeguard of our happy government, there is also a reflex influence which civil liberty sheds upon the mind, and which excites our greatest ardor in the pursuit of knowledge. Witness the universal attention which is bestowed on the subject at this time throughout our land of liberty. I do not mean the organization only of nurseries of learning, but the education that is in progress by means of those volumes of information 26 wliicli are poured forth by the teeming Press, unshackled by political censorship, to every individual; and the voluntary movements in every class of society, by as- sociations for the unrestrained culture of the mind. Truthfully has it been said by the poet, “ Freedom hath a thousand charms to show, That slaves, howe’er contented, never know. The mind attains, beneath her happy reign. The growth that Nature meant she should attain. The varied fields of science, ever new. Opening, and wider opening to her view. She ventui’es onward, with a prosperous force, While no base fear impedes her in her course.” These are the effects of a free and happy government that fosters every enterprise for intellectual improve- ment ; these, the unfading charms that constitute the pride of our nation, and form the bright and radiant Iris of its prosperity. Is there not, then, in view of such advantages, a sound policy in cherishing the spirit of our Constitution and Laws, and in securing efficient Institutions, which may systematically curb and subdue the licentiousness of youth, so that they may, as good citizens, become the means of preserving a pure and correct knowledge of the great principles of Civil Government ? Need we enforce the necessity of Religious Instruction in a country whose origin may date frojn its struggles, not more for civil liberty, than for religious toleration ; which has since been made the watch-word in every conflict of that Revolution which gave birth to our Inde- pendence ? And why ? but to create by this universal 27 feeling, not what is termed a National Religion, but a Religious Nation ; worthy of the many blessings con- ferred on us, by Him “in whom all the nations of the earth are to be blessed;” imparting its influences to other and distant lands, and breathing forth collectively and continually the same spirit of Peace and Good-Will to men at large, which is enjoyed by individuals and their families apart, and thereby consolidating the inter- ests and happiness of mankind, without the agitation of complicated political questions ; while this religion con- tains within it all the elements of union and compromise; and if by its spirit of truth we are made free, “ we are free indeed ” Christian principle is an essential ingredient of true courage ; the nurse of civil liberty. Without it, men who have encountered the rage of battle with coolness have yet fallen under and sunk beneath the pressure of moral adversity. The mighty and ambitious Csesar trembled under a superstitious presage of his death ; Cato and Brutus, with all the calm philosophy of the one, and intrepidity of the other, gave way, and perished by their own hands, under the pangs of disappointed ambition, or the agonizing sting of conscience ; while thousands of simple-hearted Christians, who have con- tributed to swell “ the noble army of martyrs,” have dared to live, in view of the sacrifice of family and friends, and of all their earthly comforts, and to face every variety of torture that truculent ingenuity could invent, or barbarous cruelty inflict. But these noble and benign affections must be planted, take root, and “ grow with our growth, and strengthen with our strength ;” literally, to be produced by line upon line, 28 and precept upon precept ; or, in otlier words, by the systematic study of the Scriptures. We do not here enter into that controversy which is so rife abroad, and now prevails in our own land, whether schools shall be subject to the Secular or the Ecclesias- tical power; whether the infallible doctrines of one Church, or the peculiar dogmas of another, should be studied, to make their impress on the scholar’s char- acter. But we may fearlessly say, that if the sublimest truth and j^nrest counsel that can light the pathway of life, are ever to become “ the day-star of his hopes, or the pavilion of his peace and prosperity,” he must not neglect or be ashamed of that religion, while the pulse of youth beats high and strong for noble purposes. Nor should his teachers be slow to inculcate those vital precepts which glow upon the page of Inspiration, touched by the finger of God himself. But how ineffectually is this done in many of our institutions, — nay, in all, — as if it was experimented, how small a portion of time would suffice for enlightening the soul, wdiile the practice of infidels is a rebuke on the indifference of Christian pro- fessors to their own text-book. The philosophic Hume acknowledged, that it contained the fairest scheme for the civilization of man. Bousseau could view, with as- tonishment, the majesty of the Scriptures, and feel that its sanctity addressed itself to his heart. Diderot would have his child diligently instructed in its precepts, the code of her morals, and the guide of her future life. A long train of illustrious unbelievers have rendered homage to this divine fountain of wisdom, while we our- selves feel and admire its pervading influence, as an 29 atmosphere of life. And, yet, our youth are launched upon the world, without more than the simplest elements of a Christian education, and are made to enter into the great conflict with that world, professedly as Christians, but with “armor they have not proved.” For a series of years, they are charmed by classic authors, who exhibit, in the most seductive colors, the religion of the Pantheon, familiarizing them with Pagan deities, and preoccupying their minds with illusions and absurdities, “changing, as it were, the glory of the incorruptible into an image made like to corruptible man while the sacred oracles of truth, that teach the worship of the only living and true God, are formally approached, and coldly read, with hearts not less at variance with its divine precepts than were those of the people of Lystra and of Athens, when, at the altar of “ the unknown God,” they ignorantly bowed. If a compliance with the refine- ments of taste obliges us to have recourse to these cele- brated ]‘epositories of Roman grandeur and Attic ele- gance, should it not be the part of those who are the watchmen of their country’s morals, to administer the surest antidote to such impersonated evils, by instruction fi’om the Bible, where the first workings of error may be quenched, and where the well-springs of the under- standing may be replenished by its dew of heavenly wis- dom? Young men will then come to understand, and be satisfied, that an equal estimate has been made by their teachers of this subject, as of the settlement of mathematical speculations ; discussions on the digamma ; or logical abstractions. We have said, that this discipline should form habits 80 of industry and self-control, where by nature they do not exist. Systematic application is the talisman by which the student can overcome every difficulty. The strin- gent rules, by which his present character has been moulded, are forgotten, in the deep and pervading satisfaction he feels in this second nature, which so eminently befits him for executing the great purpose of his creation. New objects are brought to his notice, and wrought into usefulness ; temptations are excluded ; the free spirit of inquiry is made continually to soar where genius can attain its greatest elevation ; and the holar and the perfect man become identified. Who are the men, in our age, that have been called out, on public emergencies, as the very arms of our strength ? Whose brilliant efforts have shed their lustre in our high- est councils ? Whose names have received the homage of respect and applause from foreign nations, and have caused despots to tremble for their frail tenure on civil liberty ?y^ames which have been written on the heart of every American in characters so strong, so vivid, that time never can efface them ; names which have been so elevated for their wisdom and patriotism, that it would seem, in the course of a wise Providence, they should have been permitted to go down to other generations as signal and admirable instances to show, that without the adventitious aid of worldly, official honor, the might and majesty of intellect alone, can shape the way to immor- tality. What was it that gave these men their proud distinction ? Trace them in their biographies, if they are faithfully to be written, from youth to age ; in all their occupations ; follow them to their closets, and wit- 81 ness their toils on the eve of some burst of enthusiasm which has been made to electrify our entire continent ; and if you are not satisfied, ask of those who have known the secret of the successful labors, and that mighty spring of intellect, which characterized the lives of Adams, of Calhoun, of Clay, and of Webster, and you will be told it was discipline and unwearied industry which caused their names to become the glorious memo- riaJ^f their country’s honor. ^^Lgain, this discipline generates also the habit of self- control ; a determination to master every passion of the heart, and to subdue every untried difiiculty which can obstruct the pathway to the goal of his ambition. But whether his employment is to be of a civil or mili- tary nature ; whether in public or private life ; this abandonment of self, this mastery of the inner man, by all the appliances we have mentioned, must be the result of regular and constant training, leading onward to pre- ferment, as to health and happiness : — a self-control, without which we never should have read the charmed periods and commanding eloquence of Demosthenes and Burke ; or have had our spirits stirred within us by the recital of the noble acts which have crowned the memory of Fabius and of Washington. But let us not suppose, that our system aims at the acquirement of self-control, as part of an education, by those only who may be expected to become distinguish- ed for their eloquence, or their martial achievements. This self-control should be acquired as not less requi- site to regulate and guide the ordinary and ten- der sympathies of our nature, and, oft-times, where 32 ambition and self-interest may be made to yield to tbe calls of honor and humanity. The Valerian teacher would have delivered to the Eoman general Camil- lus the children of that besieged city, and so have secured to him its conquest ; but he scornfully rejected the base proposal, remarking, that “ a great general should rely only upon his own virtue, and not upon the treachery of others.” And the enemy was sub- dued, by this touching and generous regard for his own honor and parental sympathy and love, where military skill and force had proved inadequa-te, and drew forth its beautiful commentary : “ The Romans, in preferring justice to conquest, have taught us to be satisfied with submission, instead of liberty.” And when Na- poleon made his perilous ascent of the Alps, and, amid the desolations of that fearful scene, took from a drooping and exhausted soldier his musket, and bore it on his own shoulder ; it was a deed of greater mag- nanimity than when, under “ that sun of Austerlitz,” he vanquished the combined' legions of Russia and Aus- tria; or when, from Cannae, in the terrible ascendancy of his genius, he effected his exulting, though ill-fated re-entry into Paris. The triumph of a conquering host is watered by the tears of bereaved widows and or- phans ; the rescue of a single life, is an act which restores to the bosom of society the object of their protection, and is ever fresh with the precious dew of public grati- tude and love : — that man who stops at the limits which justice has marked out for the course of honor; who knows that he has a brother in adversity to relieve ; who sees, in all civil relations, the dependencies of man upon Ills fellow-man, and is conscious of his capacity to perform one generous deed of humanity ; — may well realize, that u process of education which cultivates such graces, is worth the application of a life, and he may readily ap- preciate the simple and expressive language of the 'wise man, that “ he who ruleth his spirit, is greater than he who taketh a city f ’ expressive, — because it shows, by this striking comparison, the nature and difficulty of a w^ork which would call for the highest energies of the soul, wrought upon by continued precepts, and the love of eminent example^ ^And here, again, a great and inestimable - attain- ment is left by our schools, to be accomplished by the mere force of moral suasion, — which may often rather minister to our infirmities, than promote or correct our morals. If men were alike constituted, with the ability and disposition to command themselves, and with all sufficient motives, then, doubtless, self-dis- cipline would be well repaid for its labor. But, alas ! few have the resolution, firmness, and discernment, of a Ximenes, a Cecil, or a Franklin ; and where these qualities are not implanted by nature, they must be the result of education. Mark the historical fact, that when the great Spartan Law-giver determined to form a nation of warriors, he did not wait for the period when the citi- zen became capable of bearing arms; of listening to sound precept; and of enduring the severities of a camp ; but he claimed the children, while yet in in- fancy, as public property, and, with a rigor of treat* ment which suited only the strongest constitution, they S 34 were to renounce every luxury and every pleasure, and to extinguish every sympathetic feeling, one only ex- cepted, (that most powerful agent in man’s transac- tions,) Patriotism ; their education being “ an appren- ticeship of obedience.” And such were the privations and pains of this almost intolerable discipline, that all the fatigues and dangers of the battle-field were hailed with delight, as being, in the words of Alcibiades, “ a welcome relief from such a life as they were obliged to lead.” But here was the effect of principle ; Ids object was accomplished. It was to make men warriors ; and, however incompatible the strictness of this system might be with our free government in this day of intel- ligence, it fully illustrates our position. It has been questioned, whether a well-ordered state of society may be produced by a system of rewards and punishments ; a condition which may best arise from the early cultivation and continual exercise of good prin- ciples which act in harmony with the laws of nature, under a strict though generous supervision. Laws with pains and penalties may diminish the commission of crime and immorality ; but when they can be avoided, or when restraint is removed, iniquity will again abound, because, under every government, stern justice detects the fact ouly of a breach of law, and makes no appeal whatever to the conscience, until sentence is pronounced, when the evil or enormity of the offence is terribly opened upon it. And these rewards and pun- ishments are directed mainly at the venal hopes or the abject fears and depraved feelings of men, which should never be appealed to while there are nobler incentives 35 to action in the benign affections of the heart, which by steady attention may be taught to grow, to be modi- fied, and to abide there. The hopeless reformations which, for several years, have been produced by the Ragged Schools of England among the most abandoned of its prison inmates, are some of the happy results of this Philosophy, and will worthily perpetuate the names of Willis and of Pound, as among the greatest benefactors of mankind. It is the first conception of evil that is to be counteracted, which, like the baneful seed sown in a nutritious soil, not only attains a vigorous growth, but propagates and reproduces itself a thousand-fold. With this consideration, then, it matters not what habit or disposition we may desire to cultivate, we should early enforce the propriety and obligation to possess it with some regard to the laws of nature ; and the effect will be as^eertain as the result of any physical cause. may observe a correspondence between the way of moral and religious education, and the spirit and temper of the people of every nation, which plainly indicates that the character of a people may be moulded by their system of training the body and the mind, (rather than by the restraint of laws,) which, from early and habitual practice, ripens into a seated and permanent attachment. The ancient Persians nurtured their youth in all the rules of temperance and sobriety, of justice and virtue, and until the days of Cyrus, maintained an elevated character as a nation ; but after that period, by neglect- ing the cultivation of these virtues, they degenerated and became an easy prey to their Macedonian conquer- ors. The early Eoman severity of manners well accorded with the studied formation of their character for con- 36 quest; but their rougher genius became softened by the refinements of the Augustan age and by Grecian inter- course, and thus by easy indolence their liberty was extin- guished. The commerce of Carthage, which supplied their means of purchasing foreign aid in time of war, occa- sioned intercourse with every variety of people ; and by the influence of their religion, which sanctioned the sacri- fice of human life to an imaginary Moloch, displayed ele- ments of character which have been represented to be by turns imperious and servile, melancholy and cruel, inexorable and faithless, egotistical and covetous, and which even the better morals of their Koman masters never could eradicate. The capricious despotism of China, mingled with reverence for antiquated custom and the Aphorisms of sages inculcating obedience as a virtue, which form a considerable part of their learning, occasions a remarkable similarity in their physical appearance, and has given them the qualities of Industry, Docility and Subordination ; whilst their Religion, de- rived from the doctrines of Confucius, fills the world with demons and spirits, to exert their separate influ- ence, and produces a disposition to Insincerity, False- hood, and mutual distrust. And how uniform has been the sullen, stolid, and abject indifference of unlettered Africa throughout the palmy days of science, and every period and every change of other peoples of the earth, from that hour when the curse of everlasting servitude fell upon the children of Ham ! It is thus we unavoidably attribute to almost every nation, at this day, some features of character referable to their peculiar plan of government and education. 37 The dreadful Keyolution of a night, at Paris, too truly solved this grave Political Problem. It is, then, the moral training of its People that stamps the character of every nation ; and although penal enact- ments are essential in every municipal code, they who are subject to their infliction constitute but a small portion of the people, and invariably the ignorant and vicious. Indeed, if society is to be united by such means^ and not by habits of virtue and intelligence, early instilled and vigilantly improved, it cannot be of long duration for any beneficial purposes. And therefore, if we would have the well-being of society preserved, so should we constantly address some innate sense of kindness and benevolence in the human heart ; some feeling of self- respect, (for there is no one, however depraved, who has not within him the latent seeds of these affections,) and train it up to this virtue and intelligence. With such culture of the mind, there is no dream of Utopian perfec- tion, in looking forward to a time when we shall seek rather a development of moral excellence, than study the prevention of crime ; when our Houses of Refuge and our Penitentiaries shall be transformed into nurse- ries of Science and of Liberal Art ; and when, with the graces we have mentioned, the character of man will have that elevation, which affords the surest means of perpetuating the honor and stability of our Pepublic. Presuming, now, that the mind has been judiciously prepared by the formation of early habits ; — that the social system of education is to be preferred ; — that under our happy form of government we are at liberty freely to discuss and cultivate the sciences of Political 38 Economy, Pliilosopliy, and Public Law ; — and that we are made sensible of the importance of the full employ- ment of time, and of the knowledge and practice of religion, and are convinced of the effects of self-control and industry ; we are brought to inquire which class of the various Institutions of our country is most favorable to qualify the Student for the performance of that duty which we have laid down as the programme of his life. We do not insist upon the efficacy of a Military School, solely in its distinctive character. We advocate the influence, upon evei^y Institution, of that discipline which, like a self-adjusting spring, can be made appli- cable to any machinery, and can keep in tension all its parts, however complex they may be. Considering the claims of a well-regulated Military School, we would not detract from the competency of our Collegiate Institutions to qualify for all the duties of active life, while their fruits prove them to be the rich conservatories of science ; for where there abides in the student an all-sufficient motive, and an appreciation of the advantages held forth by any of our seats of learning, the way is clear before him, successfully to run the race which leads to fame and honor. And there have been those, so gifted with resolution, with spirits so stayed in their purpose, when called forth at some event- ful period, that they have required no aid from disci- pline, nor any incentive to action. But exalted motives and the exigences of a state are not frequent, and genius does not often, by its own power, break from the enthralments to which adverse circumstances may have subjected it; as with Ferguson, Davy, Niebuhr, 39 and Adam Clarke in Europe; and, in our own land, Franklin, Rittenhouse, Huntington, Sherman and others ; examples of what may be effected, under the keenest privations, by their own mental powers and force of unconquerable resolution. Such men are exceptions to the rule which requires system and discipline, to advance the mind. Our views of education, however, should embrace the mass of meu, as they are constituted in the aggre- gate, with every grade of talent and every variety of disposition, requiring schools, under proper government ; where a youth, as in the well-drilled army, is brought into that subjection to which the self-taught spirits we have mentioned brought themselves, and to which he must be reduced, if he would achieve a name ; where duty is enforced by a reasonable authority, and self- control becomes the first fruit of its exercise ; and where, with the husbandry of a self-acting principle, and se- questration of the heart from sensual enjoyments, every moment of time is made to tell its value. /^^^^hatever may be the part which the scholar has to y perform on the stage of life, a Military Education, not restricted to the theory and practice of arms, but ex- tending its influence to cover the attainment of every branch of useful knowledge, may be considered effect- ual, by reason of a clearness and purity of mind which arises from its continued action. The turbid and me- phitic stream always moves heavily. There is no department of business for which the rudiments of martial knowledge do not qualify the stu- dent. Is he destined for the learned profession of Law, 40 or Physic ? He has laid, deep and strong, the habit of observation, of reflection, and of logical reasoning ; a sense of moral obligation, and a systematic employ- ment of time ; and, by his associations, he has cherished those principles of honor which are indispensable in the elevated and often delicate positions in which he may be placed. Is he destined for a Mercantile Pursuit? The promptness, order, and regularity, observed in his academic exercises, may be readily transferred to the desk and the mart, and must induce precision, in all his contracts and engagements. Does he choose that most exalted and that noblest of callings, the ministry of the Gospel ? His text book is replete with details of military conflicts, and with analogies which would seem to require a corresponding genius and attainment, to bring to that good and just account, for which they appear to have been designed We need not refer to the battles of Empyrean Hierarchies, before the foundations of the earth were laid, when ‘Hhey which kept not their first estate’^ were reserved for future doom ; nor to the martial engagements of the early Patriarchs ; the battles of the chosen people of God, (every man of whom was militant,) of the kings of Israel and Judah ; and of the Maccabees, of more modern date ; all which were intended to effect the sovereign purposes of Provi- dence, to shadow forth some signal events in the great plan of Redemption, and to vindicate the ways of God to raan.”^ I say, it is unnecessary to refer to such incidents, which form a tissue of sacred narrative, or to those of later Ecclesiastical History, for a recognition of the 41 lawful causes of war. But we may come to tlie peaceful period of tlie New Testament, where the Chiistian Soldier is represented on his way, as in a state of contin- ual warfare, every step of which is to be contested, and to be gained by victory over his spiritual enemies. And where shall we find a closer analogy than has been drawn by the great Apostle, in his description of that panoply in which he figuratively arrays the soldier of the cross, and by a text so military, that no part of his armor may be wanting, from the head adorned “ with the helmet of salvation,” to the feet “ shod with the prep- aration of the Gospel of Peace.” He requires only a spiritual unction to his prevailing sense of duty, his morals, and energy, to nerve his arm in the battle of his faith, to wield the sword of the Lord and of Gideon. If he make choice of the soldier’s life, he has, by the salutary privations of the school, been fitted for enduring the fatigues, the dangers, and the duties of a camp; he is already initiated, with every accomplish- ment, not as one whose business is to kill and destroy, to sack and plunder, or to gratify “ the pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war.” He has, on the contrary, by his own well-regulated conduct, learned to temper courage with discretion ; ambition with benevo- lence ; to blend the tactics of war with Christian virtue, and intrepidity of heart with the beauty of holiness ; and to unite all the finer principles of con- duct, whether of probity, public spirit, or humanity, which are, or ought to be, the genuine characteristics of his profession, and which, in every department, form the outlines of the brave and good man, who would 42 prefer to a triumphal procession, with captive monarchs at his chariot wheels, the modern ovation, which leaves the vanquished in the enjoyment of their liberty, and elevates them to a higher degree of civilization. In all his intercourse with the world, he brings with him the elements of a knowledge of mankind, and the decision, firmness, and forbearance, which the intricate affairs of life require. And wherever we follow him, in this our continent, whether it be on the exchange, or in the retired walks of society ; whether he plow the main, or be tracing out and laying open thoroughfares over the untrodden wilderness and impenetrable mountain passes which divide the country, we shall find the same impulse given to his actions, as the result of that wholesome and effective discipline. A It would seem unnecessary further to press the claims of a Military School, properly conducted, to per — feet the military character, or, in the words of Milton, “ The rudiments of soldiership in all the skill of embat- tling, marching, encamping, fortifying, besieging, and battering, with all the help of ancient and modern stratagems, and warlike maxims.” It is, in fact, but teaching him. his adopted pursuit in life, and making him familiar with the exercises that beget a confidence without which courage may avail but little. The soldier’s faith is truly to be accompanied by works. When Hezekiah’s dominions were invaded by the Assyrian Sennacherib, and he expected that Jerusa- lem would be under siege, we are told, in the Book of Chronicles, that he first took counsel with ‘‘his princes and mighty men.” He strengthened himself, and built 43 up the '^uter and inner walls. He made darts and shields in abundance, and he set Captains of War over the people. And then he rested his people, for help, on the God of battles. And the prayers of the good and valorous Nehemiah, (three hundred years after,) for the protection of the same citadel, were not alone the stay of his faith, when, with patriotic ardor, he and his servants rebuilt its twice dilapidated walls, while each, with one hand, wrought in the w'ork, and with the other held a weapon of defence. These are admirable lessons for later generations ; to first apply their phys- ical and intellectual resources as Providential means to the end. All history and observation should satisfy us that God helps the men who help themselves. And if the art of war is neglected by a nation, then may “ the enemy come in like a flood.” National honor will droop and perisli, and, with it, national pride, and all that it involves, to sustain the enterprises of the day. Com- merce, the arts and sciences, nay, even religion itself must lose its purity and consequent power, if our hearts do not burn with love of country and devotedness to its protection, with that noble pledge our fathers once gave, “Their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.” The schools of other countries, and their martial deeds, the many distinguished leaders of our own armies, and the inferior officers who have been graduated at our military academies and their feats in battles yet fresh in memory, — of Cerro Gordo, Molino del Pey, and Chu- rubusco, have shown the success of armies under well- disciplined and educated officers, and are conclusive evi- dence of their advantage. But, unless this preliminary 44 and severe course of study and occupation is conjoined witli, and tempered by, a liberal academic course, it may prove, in many instances, but tlie nursing of future evil to tliemselves and to their country. An accomplished general, in modern times, like the heroes of antiquity, should be perfect in science and lit- erature ; equally capable, by his attainiuents, to direct the affairs of state in peace, and to lead out its armies to battle. “ That I call,” says Milton, “ a complete and generous education, which fits a man to perform justly, skilfully, and magnanimously, all the offices, both piivate and public, of peace and war.” Indeed, it might be difficult to determine whether Athens should have boasted more of the military powers of her Themisto- cles, Phocion, and Miltiades, and Eome of her Fabius, Caesar, and Camillus, than of their mental energies and their eloquence ; for we are told that the Classic nations revered “the same Pallas as the Goddess of war and of wisdom,” and that an illiterate commander would have been the contempt of Eome and of Greece. Both in Egypt and Assyria, in Persia, Greece, and Eome, (says Lord Verulam,) the same times that are most renowned for arms are likewise most admired for learning. From what has been said, it may be inferred that Military Science gives advantage to the statesman, in securing a proper understanding of the details of those departments of government which are established for its protection and maintenance, and are always affording subjects for discussion in our legislative councils, which concern a large proportion of the Treasury disburse- ments, and which materially affect the various employ- 45 merits of oiir citizens connected with them. These, with a correct knowledge and judgment, he may skilfully direct, and thus more ably prevent the abuses and cor- ruption which are ever attendant upon all human institutions. The policy of the State, also, in time of peace, is often so interwoven with difficulties as to require a nice dis- crimination of the just causes of war, as to call for an ability, decision, and promptness, seldom to be found where it has not been early and studiously cultivated. There was never an instance of greater political talent and celebrity, founded upon private and domestic instruc- tion, than that exhibited to the world by the younger Pitt. That great statesman, who, by his genius, firm- ness, and consistency, as the Premier of England, could breast the powerful opposition of Parliament, and tri- umphantly complete those financial measures which are still operating for the benefit of his country ; and could, at one period, rivet the confidence of the Throne and of the People, was yet unsuccessful in his schemes of for- eign policy, which required the intervention of arms to disperse the dark clouds which hung over the destinies of France, and threatened, by its revolution, to involve very kingdom in Europe. We do not assume the position that this discipline is indispensable to the statesman ; for here, as under other heads we have mentioned, rare genius will vault over every rule. But it cannot be denied, that the system does afford superior advantages. The sagacity of a sin- gle great statesman would have been more disastrous to the Kin 2: of Israel, on his memorable abdication and O f 46 flight, than all the armed force that could have been arrayed against him, had there not been a superior skill in military stratagem, by which the counsel of Ahitho- phel was “ turned into foolishness.” Military knowledge is not less important to the His- TOKiAisr. Histoiy is the great moral luminary which radiates the experience of past generations for the benefit of the present age. It exhibits the Empires of Time which have arisen, have flourished, and have* fallen, by the force and power of arms, guided and directed by martial enterprise and talent. And it conveys to us lessons of caution or encouragement, by describing the array of armies, and their munitions, their devices, and their strategies, for invasion or de- fense ; their battles and sieges ; and the success or defeat, which has attended them. These momentous events, and the acts of the illustrious men who have figured in them, are perpetuated by the historian, who should himself be familiar with the whole field of mili- tary tactics, and with the science of engineering, and its application to military architecture, to enable him to clearly comprehend his subject, or happily to convey impressions of Character, and to teach the moral of their actions to Posterity. Thucydides, that great mas- ter of history, displayed not less of the Political Phi- losopher, by reason of his youthful engagements in military service. The early martial lessons of Poly- bius, and his subsequent experience in the art of war, enabled him to bequeath to the world his imperishable works, which are said to afford the true politics of his- tory. The works of the illustrious soldier and states- 47 mail, Xenophon, and the commentaries of Caesar, will he coeval with time. And we have seen, in onr day, that Napier, who was a prominent actor in the Pe- ninsular war of England with France, has given an interest to that subject, where Southey, with all his laborious research and attractive style, has failed. But it is not for Heroes only, whose pomp is ofttimes furnished from rapine, and their scarlet from blood ; — nor for the consummate Statesman, whose ambition may cause him to become reckless of a nation’s glory, and to gratify alone his self-aggrandizement; nor yet for the Historian, who, with all his ability, may be governed by prejudice : it is not for the benefit of these only that our system is intended. It is for the humblest citizen, who noiselessly mixes with society, and who constitutes a part of that body of the people, who roll on the ball of public opinion. Public opinion ! that great, impartial arbiter of the acts of men, and the destinies of empires. It is for the citizen soldier, who may be withdrawn from peaceful employments, to join, in the strife of war, with every natural propensity of his heart unbroken. It is for every man of the nation who can venture a thought for the public weal, can ply a sinew for its support, or can wield a sword for the vindication of its rights ; who needs, and ought to have, the wholesome checks and guidance of this high- est and strongest arm of our country’s protection and defense. Objections have been made to a Military Education, that it excites an emotion incompatible with peaceful pursuits, encourages a warlike disposition, and begets 48 that seemingly aristocratic bearing, which is not easily tolerated in civil life. But will not the same enthusb asm, the same fixedness of purpose, qualify for other employments, while soldierly habits are but the aux- iliaries to general improvement, and yet strictly such as to prepare the mind predisposed for the science of war ? And we cannot presume, that the education of a youth, which shall prompt to chivalric action, by his familiar knowledge of the biography of men distin- guished for heroism and mental refinement, will make him less disposed to act the part of a gentleman, in every department of life. Our Army and Navy offi- cers have been considered as the patterns of courtesy and politeness ; a fact, wffiich should be the pride of any nation. And this may be the result of habitual and close observation of the comparative rights of men. Hence the remark of the erudite Coleridge, (however distasteful may be some of his gratuitous compliments to our national institutions,) “That the gentlemanly character arises out of a feeling of equality under all the circumstances of social intercourse, the trivial, not less than the important, and with the ease of habit, act- ing as a habit, yet flexible, to the varieties of rank, and modified without being disturbed or superseded by them.” But, however there may appear to be cause for such objections, it is a part of the soldier’s duty, to command as well as to obey ; and where authority exists, there must be the “external manner,” which, when exercised within its legitimate sphere, is becom- ing, and, with discretion, will never be offensive. Our theory of war has none of the sub til ties and selfish 49 principles of so-called Machiavelism, but is now made only the ultei*ior measure for determining national con- troversies, without the effects which the vain-glorious passions of mankind have hitherto produced. May we not then claim for Military Discipline, not its prerogative but its legitimate functions, in conduct- ing the education of youth, and justly submit, for the consideration of our Legislative Assemblies, the ines- timable advantage that may arise to the country at large, from liberal appropriations of Anns and Imple- ments, for the use of all our Institutions which may adopt this discipline; and especially in the abnormal state of our new Territories, where insurrectionary in- terests or predatory invasion may be counteracted by a competent knowledge of warfare, and where civil society may receive its greatest benefit and highest ornament by such endowments ? / In whatever light we may view this subject, it is a matter not only of national policy, but of necessity, that a martial spirit should be made to act upon the v/hole process of education, as we have endeavored to show. We owe it to the cause of liberty, (the dearly-pur- chased privilege we now enjoy,) for its continuance ; for, as Sallust observes, “ Imperium facile, his artibus, retinetur, quibus initio partum est.” The same arts hy which dominion was first acquired^ will serve to secure it. The first breath of liberty was inhaled, with a suc- cessful resistance to Tyranny, by an appeal to arms, and Heaven ; and the vestiges of three triumphal wai's, may satisfy us, that if it were not for the martial zeal which pervades our land, springing from a recollection 4 50 of the eventful deeds we periodically celebrate, we might now have been in the crushed and fettered con- dition of those unhappy nations, who are the victims of that despicable and cruel engine of oppression, a Stand- ing Army ! We owe it to the oppressed, and trodden- down people of every portion of the earth, who can, by possibility, breathe the pure air of freedom, as the only means of repaying that sacred debt of gratitude to foreign nations who shared with us the perils and toils of the Kevolution, which established the rights of man, on the sure basis of Independence. Whether it be for Intervention, or to wait the crisis when Freedom’s blow is to be struck, — let our national councils determine ; but never let it be said, that we can sit indifferent to the wails of the oppressed, although they come from across the wide ocean, or from the utmost ends of the earth. No ! by the prowess of an Ingraham it has already been demonstrated abroad, that the ^gis of his country’s name and rights will ever shield her'^^ adopted children from the grasp of foreign power. And while the Angel of Liberty, like him in the Apoca- lyptic vision, is taking flight “through the midst of heaven,” the God-fearing, law-loving people of our happy country will speed his course, until that glorious standard shall be unfurled, and float through other realms, as it now waves over this “ Land of the Brave, and Home of the Free.” If a military spirit, properly directed, is not com- mendable, why have Poetry and Romance so often woven triumphal garlands for the soldier’s brow ; and 51 why has the chieftain’s name been more than once made a passport to the highest honors of his country ? Why, on each return of our national jubilee, do we sing paeans in honor of those mighty spirits who secured to us the rich blessings we now enjoy? Why was the time- honored La Fayette invited to become a nation’s guest, when half a century had rolled between his last advent to our shores, and those stirring and glorious incidents which identified him with our country’s name? And, in later and recent times, why did that great Apostle of Liberty who performed his mission through this land, light up a fire of enthusiasm in every breast, in behalf of his spirit-stricken countrymen, and excite such universal applause for the announcement of doc- trines of national fraternity, which, if true, wdll ulti- mately knit the entire universe of mankind into one VAST Eepublic, by the bonds of love and peace ? “ Man is one : And he hath one great heart. And thus we feel, With a gigantic throb, across the sea. Each other’s rights and wrongs.” These events say to us in a language that cannot be misunderstood, that there is a spirit in man, an innate, indomitable spirit, that cannot be resisted to its destruc- tion, although it may be checked and ripened to use- fulness by the influences of a proper education, by giv- ing it a true direction to serve the cause of justice and humanity, and not the mere schemes of vain-glory, and insatiable ambition. The day of educational reform sheds its light through every portion of the world 52 where civil liberty prevails ; and the raind, left free to roam over the inexhaustible fields of Literature and Science, will prove their uses to mankind. Practical knowledge is no longer to be excluded from the schol- ar’s acquirements ; and, with reason swayed by a right judgment, and unprejudiced by political power, — with the understanding best taught by experience and ob- servation, our educated young men may, in their turn, go forth into the great school-room of the World, them- selves to teach and influence, by precept and example, the many thousands who may be reached by that strict discipline, which guards and corrects the waywardness of youth, as it jealously husbands the fleeting hours, and which can most effectually conduce to a knowledge of themselves ; — the True Philosophy and happiness of Man, and that highest of all obligations — duty to their Creatoe. w ■