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YOUNG MEN'S ADVOCATE.

A COURSE OF LECTURES TO YOUNG MEN.

SELF CULTURE.-SOURCES OF INFORMATION.

WE have seen that mind is possessed of the noblest powers and capacities; and though created, and therefore finite in their nature, are almost unlimited in their operations. What wonders has the human mind accomplished! Think of "the cities, the cultivated plains, and all the varieties of that splendid scene to which the art of man has transformed the deserts, and forests, and rocks of original nature:-behold him not limiting the operations of his art to that earth to which he seems confined, but bursting through the very elements that appeared to encircle him as an insurmountable barrier-traversing the waves, struggling with the winds, and making their very opposition subservient to his course-look to the still greater transformations which he has wrought in the moral scene, and compare with the miseries of barbarous life, the tranquillity and security of a wellordered state :—see, under the influence of legislative wisdom, innumerable multitudes obeying, in opposition to their strongest passions, the restraints of a power which they scarcely perceive, and the crimes of a single individual marked and punished at the distance of half the earth ;" and is there nothing to admire in all this? Let us contemplate but a single mastermind with its powers and attainments, and how much soever we may feel humbled by our vast inferiority, we cannot but be proud of our common humanity. This almost superhuman genius is a member of the same family;and to hold fellowship with such a spirit is a happiness to which all may be admitted. Our own minds have only to be trained and disciplined to follow him in his deepest investigations, or in his sublimest soarings, and appreciate the wonders which he has wrought.

IMPROVEMENT.

We take it for granted that you have resolved on a course of SELFYou are in some degree conscious of your mental capacity. The knowledge of mind is inseparable from every other kind of knowledge. Science is but the result of mental power and application;-it has no existence but in relation to the sentient, thinking mind:—and within the powers of every mind are placed all those truths which are truly valuable and important. There may be fields of investigation and discovery beyond, but surely the eye, which is clearest to distinguish the bounding circle, will

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not be the dullest and dimmest to perceive what lies within. You find that there are points which you may reach-truths which you can attain; nor will any common difficulty deter you in your progress. Your path may be rugged, but every step of advance will nerve and brace your intellectual man. It may be allowed to the weak and the effeminate to turn away from every path in which flowers and verdure are not beneath their feet; but he is the man who takes the way as he finds it, with all its rough and rugged diversity, and is resolved this one thing to do-to leave the things which are behind. "What should we have thought of the competitor of the Olympic course, whose object was the glory of a prize, contested by the proudest of his contemporary heroes, if with that illustrious reward before him, with strength and agility that might insure him the possession of it, and with all the assembled multitudes of Greece to witness his triumph, he had turned away from the contest and the victory, because he was not to tread in softness, and to be refreshed with fragrance, as he moved along?" You have a nobler prize before you. It is not for a fading laurel we ask you to run. There were those who delighted to have collected Olympic dust in the chariot race. Let it be your ambition to grasp the mighty possession of intellectual treasure. Boldly undertake the study of true wisdom-that which will elevate and dignify your nature. It is a sacred proposition, that "the husbandman must first labour before he be partaker of the fruits." But fruit is held out as the reward of his labour. So success will follow your efforts; and the greater the efforts, the grander the results.

*

The mind once set on action, it will find THE SOURCES OF INFORMATION numerous and diversified. Nature is an open volume, which every one may read and interpret for himself. Lord Bacon says, "Homo naturæ est minister et interpres." But if man is to be looked upon as the interpreter of nature, he must first study it. And what a field for contemplation and research! The world which we inhabit is but a larger museum replenished with whatever is either interesting or instructive. There is no paucity of objects-no husbanding of resources. What prodigious variety of substances!—what profusion!—what grandeur! We cannot be more struck with the beauty and diversity of the mineral than of the vegetable kingdom. To take but a single example:-botanists have arranged and classified at least one hundred thousand different species of plants; and yet the least living thing in the animal kingdom rises unspeakably above the most stupendous and astonishing of the vegetable creation. The world teems with life; and the developement of this life is itself a study. It is found in air, earth, and water. It is a delicious sight to look up to the spangled firmament, and wander amid the countless suns which stretch away into the immense of space; but no less interesting is it to follow the chain of animated and intellectual being, from the little insect that spreads its wing to a summer's sun, up to the first angel that ministers before the throne. Every thing within us, and every thing without us, is impressed with characters which no one can mistake. They are easily read, and rich are the truths of which they are the significant symbols. Only look at the structure of the animal tribes; and above all, that of the human being. It is affirmed, that the study of the eye is a cure for atheism. Be this as it may, we feel confident that a diligent and faithful inquiry into, not the * Sunt quos curriculo pulverem Olympicum

Collegisse juvat.

deeper arcana, but even the simpler formations and developements of nature, would supply materials for the most inquisitive mind, and promise an inexhaustible mine of knowledge to those who might undertake to work the shaft. The deeper it is entered the purer the ore; or, to change the figure, Nature is a splendid cabinet of jewels, which we have only to unlock, and its contents are all our own.

The researches and discoveries of Science, too, are now within the compass of every mind of ordinary capacity. No one need be ignorant of the leading facts of geology, though the youngest and most recent of the sciences-the principles and elements of chemistry-the sublime and expanding glories of astronomy:-or even the investigations and discoveries of anatomy. Lectures on these and kindred subjects, are established in almost every locality; and every facility is held out to induce an attendance. Not that we recommend one and the same mind to be turned to all these branches of inquiry at the same time. Let each make his selectionlet his thoughts have an object on which they may terminate. Knowledge is the fruit of thought; and as one subject is perceived and comprehended, it will lead to another. This is strikingly exemplified in the case of Franklin. Having a taste for reading, and this being in great part gratified by his early vocation as a printer, his mind acquired the habit of fixed and continued thought. His mental acquisitions were followed by profound and philosophical researches. He soon appeared before the world in the character of an author; and rose to such eminence in the learned circles, as to receive the literary honours of three different universities. There is no aristocracy in the world of letters. Men of the humblest origin have taken precedence of those of rank and title. We see it in the case of Ferguson, who was the son of a Scotch peasant; and who, by the power and perseverance of self-application, became the first astronomer of his age-attracted the attention and homage of Royalty itself, and died adorned with the highest honours. The path which he trod is open to all; and the elevation which he attained is a point to which they may rise.

It is impossible to over-estimate the productions of the press. In these, the present day is unrivalled. Books are a never-failing source of information; and where is the youth that may now be without a library? At the cost of a few pounds (and such a sum is often expended in the pursuits of pleasure or of folly) he may put himself in possession of as many volumes, and of a far higher order, than could have been commanded for a considerable outlay even in our younger days. Wisdom is required in their selection, nor less wisdom in their perusal. The first place should be given to history. This is a prime element in the intelligence of mind, and brings within the range of thought an endless variety of topics most deeply interesting to every member of the human family-every subject of Heaven's universal moral government. History is to other departments of information, what the root and stem of the tree may be said to be to its spreading branches :-or it may be compared to the fountain, whose waters divide and run in a thousand channels. History is the study of man in his whole being, and in all his relations. Above all, be not ignorant of the history of your own country. It is one of unparalleled interest. England has been the theatre on which have appeared men of the first character, and on which have been transacted scenes of uncommon significance and meaning. The man who is thoroughly read in this history will never appear to disadvantage in any circle into which he may be introduced.

As a means of intellectual improvement, we might recommend the study of some foreign language. French or German has become almost a sine quá non in more polite and intelligent circles. But apart from the embellishment which it may give to the character, it is desirable as a mere exercise of mind. It induces fixedness of thought and power of application. Burns, when a mere ploughboy, acquired a considerable knowledge both of French and Latin; and in English composition his epistolary correspondence is perhaps unequalled. An acquaintance with other tongues will enlarge our acquaintance with our own; and if called to fill one of the higher situations which are not so rare even in commercial life, their acquisition will prove no common recommendation. Besides, rich as our English literature is, it is not the only literature which has existence. Other nations have laboured in the same department, and in their languages are to be found stores of knowledge. How full of great thoughts and sound philosophy are some of the ancient classics! Or, if these would deter you, take the British classics in your mother tongue; seek to catch their purest inspiration; not only admire the sublime and beautiful-lay hold of the solid and the true.

Man is a social being; he cannot live without society;-hence all the companionships and relations of life. But, in entering on a course of self-culture, it is of vast moment with whom you associate. Horace says, "fortes creantur fortibus et bonis." It is a true saying, and confirmed by Solomon himself in his inspired aphorism:-" He that walketh with wise men shall be wise." Seck the society of those who are superior to yourselves who are both wiser and better. Let mind ascend; and to do this, you must place before you some higher standard. Resolve to rise. You will find every encouragement both in the effort you make, and in the confidence and commendations of those who are watching your course. The class in advance of you will cheerfully beckon you on, and lead the way to still greater progress. If you even make upon them, it will create no jealousy-no alienation. Much you may attempt-much accomplish. Look at the author of the Hours of Thought. He is a man "engaged in the manual labours of the field in a remote district of Scotland," and with this fact revealed, who is not surprised at the productions of his pen? Here is the fruit of mental cultivation, and proves what may be done by habits of thought and application in the most disadvantageous circumstances. It is into this path we would conduct you. Discipline your minds. Avail yourselves of every means of information within your reach. Leave the grosser pursuits of sense to those who have neither intellectual power nor taste. Devotedness to amusements and indulgences of whatever kind generates a mental dissipation, and in proportion as this obtains, disqualifies for all profitable exercise of mind. "One thing which appears indispensable to the attainment of intellectual eminence, is an unconquerable spirit of inquiry, impelling the mind in the pursuit of knowledge, and making it work its way in search of the firm foundations of truth. It has ever been regarded a spectacle peculiarly interesting, to behold a powerful mind bursting by its native energies the stiff incrustations of rudeness and ignorance, and pushing its way upwards to honourable and beneficial eminence;-privations, discouragements, and repulses, only enhancing its determination and ardour." Never forget that a diamond of the first water may be found incrusted in the coarsest earth.

*Hours of Thought, pp. 9, 11.

*

ON THE EVIDENCES OF UNITY AND DESIGN DISPLAYED IN THE ORGANIZATION OF ANIMALS.

BY A LECTURER ON PHYSIOLOGY.

"For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead.”—Rom. i.

WE have often regretted, when contemplating the exquisite beauty and perfection displayed in the formation of animals, that so much which is calculated to instruct the mind and elevate the soul, remains for the great mass of mankind a sealed book. And yet there are no pursuits, no amusements which are at once so accessible and so inexpensive as those of natural history. For those who reside in large cities, there are collections and museums, which we earnestly trust will, with an improved mode of conducting business, become more available than heretofore; and for those who live in smaller towns and villages, there are the ever fresh and varying objects of nature. The railway, the steam-boat, nay, even a stout pair of legs, and a willing heart, will, on a summer's evening, and on a holiday, carry the denizen of our modern Babylon so far into the pure air of the country as to afford occasional opportunities for watching the habits of animals, and for obtaining interesting specimens, especially of insects and the fresh-water mollusca.

No part of the great book of Nature can be opened without meeting with proofs of the perfect adjustment of organized bodies to the offices they are designed to fulfil. We will, in the present paper, give some account of the external coverings of animals. Of these, perhaps, the most interesting are feathers, each of which is composed of a quill or barrel for attachment to the skin-of a shaft, and a vane or beard, the latter of which consists of a vast number of thin horny plates, called barbs, and which can be well seen in a common writing pen. Although all feathers consist of these parts, yet they differ very much according to their use, and the class of birds in which they are examined.

Feathers, we may remark, have three offices:-they are instruments for flight, for promoting warmth, and for keeping the animal dry. Those of the first order, or the large feathers of the wing, are attached to the bones which correspond to the hand and fore-arm of man; and in order that they may offer a sufficiently resistant surface to the air in the downward impulse of the wing, it is seen that each of the barbs, in addition to being grooved on the surface, is attached to its neighbour by a number of small hooks, called barbules, a structure readily recognised by holding a pen up to the light, and slightly separating the pieces forming the vane. Were it not for this mechanism, for mechanism it is, and of the most perfect kind, in striking the air the same thing would happen as if we were to attempt to swim with the fingers separated from each other.

In order to maintain the animal heat, the feathers next the skin are of a totally different nature. Instead of the barbs being locked together, they are all loose, and form the down, which, consisting of a multitude of fine filaments, entangle a large quantity of air; and this being like all gaseous bodies a bad conductor of heat, the warmth, which is constantly being generated by the process of respiration, is retained. The temperature of birds is higher than that of quadrupeds, varying from 103° to 107°, that of

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