M*. PERKINS' ORATION UPON GENIUS. 4. NEW ENGLAND HISTORIC, GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY. SOLICITED BY A N ORATION UPON GENIUS, PRONOUNCED AT THE ANNIVERSARY COMMENCEMENT O F HARVARD UNIVERSITY in- Cambridge, JULY I9, I797. By JOSEPH PERKINS, A. M. — WOK 0K-~ 0.4 o BOSTON: Printed by Manning iff Loring, For JOSEPH NANCREDE , No. 49, Marlin' Street. 1 797 * ■; ' Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/orationupongeniuOOperk I TO THE PATRONS O F COLUMBIAN GENIUS, THE FOLLOWING Oration IS MOST RESPECTFULLY A 2 A N ORATION UPON GENIUS, genius in a well conftituted republic ; and to prove by arguments drawn from incontrovertible fad, that United Columbia is inferior to no nation on earth in the rich- eft endowments of fancy and intelled ; — is the prefent intention of him, who now with diffidence foliciis the indulgence of this truly polite and refpedable audience. Should the fpeaker prove fo unfortunate as to pro- voke the exulting critic’s farcaitic fneer by his choice of a theme, he would urge, as his apology, the extreme difficulty, and, he might add, the abfolute impoifibility, of feleding for this annually returning folemnity a topic at once novel, entertaining, and unexceptionable. Were he to indulge the defpicable wifh of obtaining at every O mark the peculiar operation of liberty on mental exertion and improvement ; to exhibit a few of the beneficial effeds refulting from the liberal encouragement of hazard L 8 ] hazard a momentary burft of applaufe, he could not hefitate to attempt the difcuflion of fomc contefted political queftion. As that difcordant firing rarely fails of returning a jarring note of tranfient and partial ap- probation even to the rudeft touch of the moft unfkilful hand, his efforts might doubtlefs have been crowned with fo worthlefs a meed. But he feared to incur the unpardonable guilt of interrupting that harmony, good humor, and friendfhip which ought ever to predominate on this literary feftfval. He likewife reflefted, that, as he could not feel perfonally interefted in the refult of a difquifition upon genius , his acknowledged inability to do juftice to fo noble a theme might in fome degree be compenfated by that unprejudiced impartiality, which in the prefent inftance he can fafely boaft, and which is an indifpenfable prerequifite to the fuccefsful invefti- gation of truth. The fubjeSt, which after much delib- eration he has thus leleded, he conceives, cannot be deemed altogether impertinent to an occafion, which has juft exhibited fo many promifing fpecimens of na- tive ingenuity and cultivated tafte. Vague and indeterminate as is the idea not unfre- quently annexed to the word genius, a minute and la- bored explication of fo familiar a term cannot here be thought neceffary, and will not now be attempted, fn general acceptation it is significant of thofe varioufly modified intellectual powers, uncommon in kind or de- gree, by the poffrlfion, cultivation, and exertion of which, an individual is enabled to rife fuperior to the great mafs of mankind, and by fome extraordinary pro- duction, beneficial improvement, or difficult and impor- tant difcovery, to bear away the palm of excellence from his envious or gratefully admiring cotemporaries. This I 9 1 .This concife expofition of our fubjedl may be as per- tinent and adequate to our purpofe, as a more tedious, explicit, and artificial definition. Our firft object is to mark the peculiar operation of liberty on mental exertion and improvement. That a free government has a natural and an infepa- rable connexion with every fpecies of poffible excel- lence, has often been a topic of enthufiaftic declamation. How far fo unqualified a pofition may with juftice be ap- plied to the point before us, a more attentive confidera- tion of the fubjeft will enable us. with fome degree of precifion to determine. The unreftrained liberty of the prefs, which is ex- prefsly or virtually recognifed by all the American conftitutions, a privilege in its utmoft latitude peculiar to our country, and like every other privilege too fre- quently abufed, is no lefs efficacioully conducive to the fuccefsful cultivation of talents, than it is favorable to the diffemination of knowledge, and “ elfential to the fecurity of freedom in a ftate.” Curiofity, fpeculation, inquiry, inveftigation, and exertion, are likewife here completely emancipated from the chains of defpotifni and the galling fetters of monkifh ignorance and fuper- flition, and the eagle genius is at full liberty to plume and expand her vigorous wings, to traverfe the airy regions of deathlefs fame, and to build her neft among, the ftars. We have here no Socrates compelled to fwallow the fatal hernloc ; no Galileo Ihuddering at the terrors of a diabolical inquifition ; “ no Bacon trembling for his brazen head.” Surely genius muft be an exotic too delicate for our climate, or, if indigenous , its fpontaneous (hoots muft be choked by the ranker weeds of criminal inattention, or it cannot but fiourilh in a foil like ours. As C 10 ] As knowledge is a fundamental pillar in the fair fabric of liberty, without which that noble ftru&ure mull fall to the ground, and as it is of courfe a leading. objeCt of our laws to extend the means of information to every clafs of our citizens, we cannot in this country feel the full force of that beautiful complaint of the poet in its metaphorical application, that “ Many a flower is born to blufti unfeeil, And wafte its fweetnefs on the defert air.” Thofe rudiments of learning, of which fcarce an in-- dividual in the United States can innocently be deftitute, inconliderable as they may appear compared with the acquifitions of a finilhed education, by re- moving the fmothering allies of total ignorance from the dormant embers of genius, are often found fuffi- cient to kindle into a flame thofe latent intellectual fires, which are calculated to enlighten and adorn the world, but which might otherwife have flept in eter- nal obfcurity. The votaries at the temple of Colum- bian fame cannot fail to derive many valuable accellions from a fource at once fo pure, fo copious, and fo pecu- liar to that excellent government, which it is our lingu- lar felicity to enjoy, and our unalterable refolution at every hazard to. fupport. The univerfal diffusion of knowledge, which diftin- guifhes the United States from the reft of the world, by exciting a literary thirft among the people in general, muft alfo render the patrons of ingenuity and tafte infinitely more numerous, than they can poffibly be in thofe na- tions, where the means, the pleafures, and the advant- ages of information are confined within the limited cir- cles of nobility and wealth. This confideration furnifhes an E « 3 an additional argument to prove the beneficial operation of liberty on mental exertion and improvement. A republican conftitution, by rendering every meri- torious citizen eligible to the mod dignified and lucra- tive offices of date, mud of neceffity have a very happy and efficacious influence on the cultivation of talents. So long as real abilities ffiall conftitute an indifpenfabie qualification in every candidate for public honor and confidence, and continue to meet their deferved reward, Columbian genius cannot want a very powerful incen- tive to the mofl ftrenuous exertion. A theory lo prob- able might eafily be eftabliffied by undeniable fafts, did not common obfervation preclude the neceffity. Thefe may fairly be enumerated among the fuperior privileges and advantages, which genius enjoys under the aufpices of liberty. But while it cannot be denied, that even the frigid zone of delpotifm has produced fome of the faireft, mod delicious, and mature ft fruits of human ingenuity, fo uncontrollable are the native en- ergies of the mind \ we are compelled, though with extreme reluctance, to acknowledge, that in fome few refpedts a republic like ours is calculated to extend a lefs generous patronage to intellectual endowments, than is afforded by thofe defective political eftabliffiments, which are moft prevalent in the world. A few more particular obfervations on this point may be of fome utility, and will be neceffary to complete our original defign. In a country where “ all men are born free and equal,” the acquifition of wealth will ever be a prime objeft of univeifal attention. Rejefting with fcorn that .bantling of folly and degradation, the idea .that birth or family can confer any real fuperiority, every individual is £ 12 ] as convinced, that his importance, refpedlability, and influence in fociety muff refult either from his abilities, •his virtues, or his property. As the latter is much more eafily attainable, and unfortunately in much higher ■eftimation, than either of the former, we cannot be greatly furprifed to And its votaries fo numerous, fo in- defatigable, and fo fuccefsful. A paflion for wealth af- fumes fo naturally the empire of the human heart, that its irrefiftible influence and its deplorable effedts are more than fufficiently vifible even in thofe nations, where the mod enormous affluence can never attain the confe- rence nor ufurp the prerogatives of titled nobility. But a conftitution founded on the broad balls of natural equality, and a country abounding in all the fources of wealth, afford to avarice the moll fertile field, where by a fpontaneous growth and a too affxduous cultivation this noxious weed attains the molt luxuriant maturity. If the tender germe of genius Ihould not be altogether overpowered and deflroyed by fo exuberant and poifon- ous a plant, it can never expand and flourilh, while thus deprived of needful culture, and the invigorating rays of attentive encouragement. The moll: fuperficial obfervation will evince the juflice of this conclufion. The richefi: gifts of nature are fometimes buried behind a counter, and even ten talents wrapped up in a napkin. A fine genius gravely occupied in meafuring tapes and ribbons mull be a fpe&acle peculiar to our country, and by a foreigner would be ranked among our greateft cu- riofities. A recent fadt may be adduced to elucidate the fubjedt and corroborate our pofition. Several well diredted efforts have lately been made to eftablifh a pe- riodical repofitory for the fugitive and occafional pro- dudlions of ingenuity and tafte in our enlightened and wealthy I 13 ] wealthy metropolis. Thefe laudable endeavors to in- ftrudt and amufe,all excellent in defign, and fome of them no lefs excellent in their execution, have been fuffered to expire in rapid fuccellion, crufhed by the Herculean gralp of difappointed expectation and unre- warded exertion. So pernicious is the operation of that unremitted, univerfal, and exclufive attention to the ac- quifition of wealth, which characterizes Americans, on the interefts of literature, and on the exercife and im- provement of the mental powers. In thofe countries where ariftocracy forms a con- ftituent and an effential part of the government, we fome- times find an elegant and a cultivated tafle fuperadded. to an ample unalienable patrimony. When leifure, in- clination, and ability are thus happily united, genius is ever fure to obtain a protecting afylum and a generous patronage. Inftances of this kind not unfrequentfy oc- cur in the annals of modern Europe, and grateful an- tiquity is loud in the praifes of a Pollio and a Mecenas. But this rich refource of negleCted merit and want-de- preffed talents is entirely cut off, though, doubtlefs, amply compenfated, by the gavelkind equality of our democratical republic. The conquerors and defpot-s of the earth have ever been careful to avail themfelves of the magic powers of genius to varnilh over their crimes, to gild the bitter pill of flavery, and to blazon forth their triumphs and achievements. This prudent and well judged policy, as unneceflavy as it is unknown in a republic, has often afforded to talents the moll liberal encouragement, and thus conferred an unintentional benefit on the world. And while we fmcerely regret that the heaven-defcend- B ed [ 14 ] ed Mufe fiiould ever doop to flatter the ears of an exe- crable tyrant, or to fwell the clarion of fame with the fanguinary praifes of a murderous conqueror, it is no fmall confolation to refledt, that, like nature’s great chymid the bee, (he can extradt the choiceft, the mod falubrious fweets from the bittered and mod unfavory flower, and from the mod deleterious and noifome plant. Thus we have attempted to trace the peculiar opera- tion of liberty on mental exertion and improvement. We have endeavored to draw a parallel between our own government and that of mod other nations, fo far only as relates diredlly to our fubjedf, and we have the fatisfadiion to believe, that in this, as in every other, refpedt the balance on the whole is greatly in favor of United Columbia. But as it is a fubjedt of ferious con- cern and regret, that in a Angle folitary indance our country fhould yield to any other on earth in patronif- ing, rewarding, and honoring talents, we fhall now pro- ceed to exhibit a few of the beneficial efFe<5ls refulting from the liberal encouragement of genius in a well con- flituted republic. That knowledge is a fundamental pillar in the temple of liberty has been before incidentally fuggeded, and i? a maxim functioned by the unvarying tenor of hiflory and the uniform fentiment of philofophers and ftatef- men. Vain is the boafl of the pured morals, the bed intentions, and the mod ardent patriotifm, if, by negledt- ing to cultivate their minds, and to acquire as much in- formation, as their opportunities and advantages will al- low, the citizens of a free date are liable every moment to lacrifice their deared privileges to the groundlels qlamors of unprincipled fadltoii, the infidious machina- tiopij [ ] iions of foreign interference, or the intereded intrigues of difappointed ambition. While they are taught to be- lieve, that they are fubferving the real interefts of their beloved country, they may be inadvertently Tapping the foundation of the mod excellent government, and over- turning the nobleft ftru&ure of freedom upon their own devoted heads. Their courage, their patriotifm, their jealoufy and zeal for liberty, thofe guardian angels of their rights, are thus wantonly diverted from their original charge, and employed to precipitate their flave- ry and ruin. To prevent a calamity of fuch incalcula- ble magnitude, fhould be the earned wifh and mod ftrenuous endeavor of every fincere friend of his coun- try and mankind. This great objedt is to be obtained not only by adopting every eligible expedient for the ef- fablifhment, fubfifhnce, and univerfal utility of public and private inditutions of learning, but by extending the hand of liberal encouragement to modeft unafpiring merit, to diffident and unpatronifed genius. While our wife and patriotic legiflators are careful to reward with peculiar privileges every ufeful invention and ingenious produ&ion, it is the duty of the citizen on his part to co-operate to the extent of his ability in fo defirable and important a work. While our fupreme magidrates make the union of eminent talents and inflexible integ- rity their invariable object in their nominations to offices of refponfibility and honor, our independent freemen fhould ever be dudious to regulate their elections by the fame excellent and infallible dandard. By thus didin- guifhing and rewarding abilities, and encouraging the cultivation and exertion of the mental faculties, the gen- eral diffulion of knowledge will be mod efficacioufly promoted, [ i-6 ] promoted, to the exclufion of that ignorance and barb'a- rifm, which are altogether incompatible with the per- manent enjoyment of rational liberty. The connexion between moral and intellectual im- provement, which is certainly natural and intimate, though not abfolutely infeparable, furnifhes a weighty argument to prove the utility of a univerfal diffemination of knowledge, and a generous patronage of fuperior talents. Information and virtue are equally effential to the happinefs and durable exigence of a free Hate. The morals of a nation are ever found to bear a very great, though perhaps not an exaCt, proportion to their attention to literature and the education of youth, and their eflimation and encouragement of diflinguilhed abil- ities. To fofter genius, then, and to irrigate with care the tender roots of fcience, mud be a duty incumbent' equally on the patriot, the philofopher, and the chrif- tian. The annals of every age are replete with inftruCtion on this important fubjeCt. From thefe we learn, that thofe furprifing revolutions, which have fucceffively changed the face of the world, and which have melior- ated the condition of humanity, or entailed mifery and flavery on fubjugated millions, have generally been ef- fected by the extraordinary genius of a fmgle man. An Alfred and a Peter could civilize their barbarous fubjeCts ; a Cromwell could impofe both liberty and fervitude upon a people, who can neither be free nor Haves ;* an Alexander and a Cefar could conquer a ^ world ; * L’Anglois indompte, Qui ne pcut ni fervir, lii vivre en liberte. Voltaire. Henriade Chant. x er * [ >7 ] •world ; and a WASHINGTON could give in-'-"'-' dence, refpedlability, and happinefs to his defp prefled, and delponding country. Men d ; if by fuch pre-eminent intellectual endowments ken. '.om miffioned the plenipotentiaries of Heaven beiow, to ex- ecute the purpofes of divine favor and difpleafure among the nations of the earth. If fuch are the powers and prerogatives of genius, we mu ft be loft to every fenti- ment of honor, intereft, and juftice, if we do not cheri/h, reverence, and detain the celeftial gueft. It may not be improper in this place to obviate a very natural objection. If fuperior talents have fo often been employed to enllave mankind, to regard them with marks of diftinguilhed favor and encouragement in a free ftate may be confidered by fome as dangerous to its liberties. To argue againft the utility of any thing from its perverfion and abufe is inconflftent at once with candor, good logic, and the difcovery of truth. It is granted, that an unprincipled ambition and a fpirit of factious diforganization are ever to be dreaded, and carefully guarded againft, in proportion to the natural or acquired abilities, with which they happen to be uni- ted. But in a country like ours, where a well inform- ed community’can think, judge, and aCt for itfelf, it is fcarcely pofiible, that the intriguing arts of the moft af- piring demagogue, though fupported by uncommon in- tellectual powers, and concealed under the impofing veil of enthufl aftic patriotifm, fhould long efcape detection from enlightened and lynx-eyed republicans, or acquire a dangerous and lafling afcendancy over the public mind. While the general diffufion of knowledge among our citizens renders us thus fecure from the perverfion of genius, it is Angularly fortunate, that our fecuvity is B 3 erected [ i8 ] ereCted on a foundation, which is daily increafing in drength and dability. It is the peculiar felicity of Columbia, that (he can without hazard commit the pre- cious cafket of her deared rights to the cudody of fuch of her fons, as are the bed qualified by their fuperior talents to protect and preferve fo invaluable a treafure. As a confiderable degree of national pride is certain- ly judifiable and laudable, to enlid fo generous, benefi- cial, and influential a paflion under the banners of genius cannot be confidered as difingenuous, and may be pro- ductive of the happled effects. It cannot be doubted, that our eftimation, refpeftability, celebrity, and rela- tive importance among the nations of the earth, as well as our political fecurity, mud in a great meafure depend on the reputation of our citizens for abilities and learn- ing. This pofition, founded in reafon and fupported by obfervation and hiflory, places beyond the reach of controverfy the utility and neceflity of a liberal encour- agement of genius in a republic like ours. Indulged, as we are, with privileges and advantages of every kind fuperior to thofe enjoyed by any other nation, it fliould be our ambition, our dudy, and our mod earned en- deavor, to render our country, as confpicuous in the annals of the world by her talents, literature, and tade, by her improvements in art and her acquifitions in fcience, as (lie now is by the virtue, affluence, and en- terprifing fpirit of her citizens, the equity of her laws, the excellence of her conditution, and her unexam- pled profperity. It now remains to prove by a few arguments drawn from incontedable faCt, that United Columbia is infe- rior to no nation on earth in the riched endowments of fitney and intellect. The [ 19 3 The juftly celebrated Abbe R.aynal has ventured to affert, that “ America has not yet produced one good poet, one able mathematician, one man of genius in a’ hngle art or fcience.” This falfe, unqualified, and abufive affertion has been ably refuted by him, who now fufiains the fecond rank in our federal government, and fo far as refpeds the United States has been fince retraded by the ingenuous author. A few examples will be fufficient to evince the propriety and juffice of this timely recantation. Thofe extraordinary geniufes, whofe fame is co-ex- tenfive with mankind and permanent as the prefent fyftem of things, are fuch thinly fcattered “ miracles below,” that though we cannot boatl a Homer, a Vir- gil, a Taffo, a Shakefpeare, a Milton, a Pope, a Buffon, nor a Voltaire, yet we (hall not acknowledge ourfelves inferior to the other nations of the world, unlefs they can exhibit fome recent or exjllng fuperior to any, that our rifing country has hitherto produced. The impofli- bility of this we do not hefitate to maintain, and we rely with confidence on the following proofs. That the prefent century has not afforded a rival to our illuftrious Franklin in the walks of philofophy is a truth, which no one will prefume to difpute. In vari- ous improvements of utility, in important and furprifing difcoveries in phyfics, and in fuccefsful refearches into the hitherto unexplored arcana of nature, he was fcarcely furpaffed by the immortal Newton. As a pro- ficient in aftronomy, and as a mechanician both pradi- cal and theoretical, our feif-taught Rittenhoufe was fecond to none. The philofophic Winthrop, whofe memory will ever be dear to his grateful alma mater , long Ihone a far of the firft magnitude in the firma- ment [ 20 ] ment of Science. The ingenuity of our artifts is ex- ceeded by nothing but their indudry, and the labors of a Pope and a Cox are too univerfally known and ad- mired to derive any additional celebrity from our par- tial applaufe. We have feen our Trumbull, our Savage, and our Copley, bearing off the firft honors of the pen- cil in England, and the prefidential chair of a Britilh Academy of Paintings filled and adorned by an Ameri- can Weft. Our afllduous and intelligent Morfe has deferved well of his country,, and ftands unrivalled in the geographical department. In poetry we can boaft a Livingdon, a Barlow, a Dwight, an Humphries, a Sewall, a Warren, a Condantia, a Philenia, and a Menander, with many others of either fex, whole names would form too large a catalogue for our prefent purpofe. In the walks of pleafantry and humor the facetious Hopkinfon was equalled by few ; but in genu- ine wit, in laugh-exciting burlefque, in keen-edged fa- tire, and in irrefiftible ridicule, our Trumbull has fairly didanced the heretofore inimitable Butler, and that even by the fuffrages of Englifn criticifm. In hidory a Belknap, a Ramfay, and a Minot, have done equal honor to language, to truth, to their country, and to themfelves. Of biography we have been favored with fome promifing fpecimens, and fcarcely a branch of curious, ufeful, or ornamental learning can be named, which has not produced the abled proficients. From the learned profeflions numbers might be adduced, who would not fuffer by a comparifon with their mod dif- tinguifhed tranfatlantic brethren. But among fo many, who deferve our applaufe, we dare not attempt any in- vidious didimdions. With heart-felt pleafure do we behold [ *1 3 behold the fird office in our nation dignified and adora- ed by a fon of Harvard* whofe “ Defence of the American Conditutions ,r is the admiration of Europe, the oracle of every enlightened datefman, and the- dandard o'f excellence as a difquifition on one of the mod momentous fubjefts, that ever employed the talents of man. In extenfive political information, in the arts of negociatiom and finance, in the all-important fcience of government, as well as in the nobleft intellectual endowments, a Jay, a Hamilton, a Jefferfon, and art ADAMS, may challenge the- world to produce their fuperior. But our greated boad, our brighted ornament, the pride of Columbia, the delight of mankind, and the riched gem in the cabinet of humanity, remains yet to be named. Vain were the wilh, and fruitlefs the at- tempt, to do jadice to the merits of the illudrious WASHINGTON. As a hero, invincible ; as a general, unrivalled ; as a writer, incomparable ; as a datefman, unequalled ; and as a man, inimitable; — he may with judice be pronounced the mod unexceptiona- ble, the mod finifired, the mod godlike human charac- ter, that ever adted a part on the theatre of the world. While matchlefs virtue lhall be revered ; while tran- fcendent talents lhall command refpedt while the mod brilliant and beneficial achievements in- war, and labors ao lefs arduous and important in peace, lhall defer ve applaufe ; and while the love of liberty remains inhe- rent in the human heart ; — the name of W ASH1NG- TON lhall dand enrolled among the greated benefac- tors of mankind ; his memory lhall be cherilhed with affedtlon by every grateful fucceeding generation ; and the t 32 3 the amaranthine garland of fame, which now adorns his brow, fhall blofTom and flourifh with increafing fra* grance, vigor, and beauty, till time and nature fhall be no more. And when the great terreftrial drama fhall be clofed, and the curtain fall, he will be applauded by the grand auditory of the affembled univerfe, and crowned with the unfading laurel of felicity, unbound- ed as his benevolence, indefcribable as bis worth, and immortal as his glory. From the few examples, which have now been feleCf- ed, may we not with the utmoft fafety and propriety conclude, that United Columbia is inferior to no nation on earth in the richeft endowments of fancy and intel- lect ? And when we confider, that our country has fcarcely yet arrived at a date of political maturity, and refleCt for a moment on the numerous difficulties, which her infancy and childhood have had to encounter, we have the fatisfaCtion to believe, that the prefent period is but the dawn of Columbian genius, and we look for- ward with tranfports of joy to the brighter glories of its meridian day. With confidence and with rapture do we anticipate the not far diftant era, when the United States of America, the afylum of liberty, the emporium of wealth, and the permanent refidence of virtue and happinefs, fhall become the nurfery of GENIUS, the garden of art, fcience, and literature, the feat of the Mufes, the Athens of the age, and the admiration of the world. FINIS.