A Beautiful Extract: On The Influence Of Moral Causes

The mteUectunl and moral cnaracier 01 man marked vvfth variety. In whatever part of I's creation we contémplate him, whether I the snowy cliíTs öf Greenland or the sunrnt plains of África, on the rurrged mounns of Norway or the fcrtile fields of Italy, ihfi bank of tiie Ganges or the Missiasippi; hether he inhale the Zaphyrs waftetl from rovea of Arabian spices, or shiverbeneqth the asls of Patogonia's wilds, this trait reigns retlominant. At one time he is seen tho ride and the ornament of his species; at anothr, a foul blot on nature's works. Here, uoyed on the pinions of imagination and of ïtelljct, he eoars through theregions offany and of fact, and "rivals the rapt seraph, who dores and burns:" thero, the forlorn eon of jnorance and stupidity, he grovcls vit)j Ibe nole, or wallows with the suine. Here, he owers a Newton, there, he roams a Tartar. - Iere, the smile of complacency glows on hisrom hia eye, oud the throb of compassion hrills in hls bosom. Thero the scowl of maignity darkens his brow, the lightning of re?enge flashes on his cheek, and the malice of ïell rankles in his breast . At one time he is seen, relievino the sufferer and consoling tho miserable; at another, he brandishe3 the assassin's dagger, or h'urls the incendiary'a torch. Here, he exulta at once the dading son and the resistlesa chamnion of liberty; there, some pampered menial, arrayed in the roynl purple and decked with the glittering diadem, waves a despot'a sceptre ovor millions of passive sla ves, who, in spiritless acquÍ9Bcence, lick the chains that bind and kiss the scourge that larcerates thera. The abovc extract is from the oration of Asliley Samson, a caudidate for the degree ofA. ai. m MiacieDury couege. vv e mime inai tis as good a descriptioa ofthe moral charac;er of man, as we ha ve ever secn. It discloses i mind ofmorethan ordinary powers. Tbo anguage is eloquent, pungent and sublime. - [t is true, that the moral character of man a narked witli varióus grades of vice. Here vo 5ml hira wallowing in the filth of drunkiiess; therc, the pride and ornament of society. Here, we see hiin sinking to the lowest depths f denfradatton; thore, shitiing in the beauty of his charactei ; hkc the brillant 6tar ofthe firmament, dazzling the eye of the observer. - Here, we find him a slaye, wnthing under tlio severest rod of despotism; there, exulting ín the swects of human liberty. This is no overdrawn picture. It is a self evident truth. Man is wíiat he a, tnd he can either mako íimsclf miserable or happy. It isall voluntary; ie can either subdue his animal passious, or ie can permit thera to subduc him.