4' NO.l.
AUTllOltS AND THKIIl WOKKB.
Lot us draw n brief contnist between
Rev. Joseph Cook and Robert Ingorsoll,
The former bus been holding, spell bound,
the intelligence of Boston audiences by
delivering to them his noted lectures
which arc now attracting the undivided
attention of the learned in both hemi
spheres. His pungent and searching
remarks, his peculiar and lilting treat
ment of things practical, and the careful
? m inner in which he has constructed a
pyramid of common sense has elicited
j deafening applause and true appreciation.
j Instead of laying waste the sacred senti
ments of centuries, instead of tearing
down the bulwarks of society and cutting
loose from the reins of civil government
"S- instead of destroying souls, ho is bravely
lending a helping hand to do the direct
, opposite in every cited instance.
When Ingersoll accompanied the nomi-
nation of the wily lion of Maims for Pros-
j ident, with a deserving and elegant polti-
J cal tribute, the whole land joined in say-
, ing, " Tis well." But ho failed in his
steps. He shocked the sensibilities of a
fo religious republic. Ho destroyed charac
ter for political elevation. He showed
himself a willing tool to hypocritical
ambition, when ho attacked, with such
I shallowness and iuconsidcration, the
Christian Religion without offering in its
1 stead a suitable substitute. Ho left a stain
upon his name, that history will paint in
blackest colors, if, indeed, history sees
I lit to notice him at all He called down
upon him the condemnation of every
vti. parent that is carefully watching the
r training of youthful minds, wlicn lie lent
( his influence toward Hooding this land
,j with thousands of copies of vile litem
" turo no, save the name, literature, from
y the stigma and let ua say accursed print
i ed trash, that is in its doings more secret
f and terrible than the murderer, a more
i$ dangerous enemy than intemperance
which has been busy for years building
penitentiaries and asylums, filling
t t graves and breaking mothers' hearts.
jL This is too sad for further contemplation ;
let us hastily draw the curtain. Guy.
AUTHOliS AND TUB Hi WOJiKS.
The influence, exerted upon our globe
by the mighty wiolders of the pen, can
not be calculated.
Tho orator may fire his hearers with
enthusiasm; and for the time being bo all
powerful, yet he can influence only those
who como within the sound of his voice.
His reign is for a day and ho is gone.
Generations come and go and he is en
tirely forgotten, unless ho be u writer as
well, and his works of sulllcient inipor.
tanco to stand tho test of time. Oratory
comes from impulse and not reflection.
Had Demosthenes been only an orator
and not labored upon his speeches, pen in
hand until Pythias said" All his argu
ments smell of the lamp," his name
would not have become as mighty as it is
to-day.
What a loss is it, that Socrates did not
transfer to paper words so wisely spoken,
while debating witli the firm old sophists
of his day. He was in advance of his
ago, and could have taught succeeding
generations as well.
Tho artist, by his carefully idealized
pictures, strives to reach the inner man
and touch tho llnor susceptibilities of tho
soul of man. Ho aims to make all feel
the power of tho beautiful and cultivate
better tastes and higher ideals. Ills
orbit ia confined to the world of art alone;
for outside of that few are those to whom
his models possess any signification.
Michael Angelo does not exert the influ
ence to-day as does Dante the "Chris
tian Homer." Art lias its niche to All,
it can improve and charm, but not civil
ize; it can polish men but not remake
them.
While art speaks but to certain classes,
authors address themselves to all. Tho
rich and poor alike reap the benefits
resulting from the literature of tho ages.
As their minds devolopo so does their
yyr
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