and when the charge upon our Western World of never having produced one single original work of genius, will be most amply refuted.* * This theme was written by a lad of fourteen years of age, in the regular course of exercises at the school; and not offered for any reward. THEME, ON INDUSTRY. "Pater ipse colendi Haud facilem esse viam voluit, primusque per artem MAN was never formed for idleness and inactivity. He possesses powers both of body and mind, which are capable of great improvement, and which, if improved, contribute greatly to his happiness. And therefore a man of a refined and cultivated mind possesses more numerous sources of pleasure, than he who, if misfortune should gather around him, would have no source of comfort within himself, and must be driven to madness or despair. Let the young stu dent, who has just begun to traverse the rugged path of science, but take industry for his guide, and he will advance upon that path where so many have faltered, with an alacrity which no obstacle can retard. The man of business too must pass many an anxious day, and many a sleepless night before he can realize all his fond hopes of wealth and aggrandizement. And our Creator himself, in the words which he pronounced upon Adam, " in the sweat of thy face shalt thou cat bread," implied the necessity of labouring to obtain subsistence. No second Eden blooms for us, with spontaneous verdure. We ourselves must labour if we would reap the harvest. Industry is peculiarly necessary in literary pursuits. Our minds, like the hidden ore, must be refined and polished by laborious study. How many a mind has there been, which but for idleness, baneful idleness, might have shone in a nation's cabinet, and commanded a nation's admiration. How many a parent has watched over the expanding intellect of his darling child, delighted in its every progress, and fondly hoped that in its attainments he should reap the reward of his cares and labours. But alas! the monster, idleness, has wound his giant folds imperceptibly, though fatally, around his youthful victim, and he sinks in ignorance and obscurity, an example of its fatal influence. If we wish to attain to excellence in any art, however trifling, we must make some exertion, and our attainments will be proportionate to that exertion. If we would win the prize, we must strive for it; but not with too hasty or too ardent efforts. We must begin our course with fixed determination, pursue it with alacrity, and combat new difficulties with new strength; and we may be confident that our labours will be crowned with success. For perseverance is but another name for victory. Our life, without employment, would be a burden too heavy to be borne. Suppose a man possessed of every resource which can amuse the fancy or gratify the senses. Let him riot in ease and dissipation, and let his ear be "lulled by sounds of sweetest melody;" let him possess in short, every thing calculated to render life happy; but let him pass this life, with all its fancied pleasures, in inactivity, still there will be a canker within, which will embitter all his happiness. He flies to his gay companions; but their merriment only makes him the more unhappy. His downy couch affords him no repose; and he rises from it, discontented and unhappy, only to begin another day as tedious as the former. His pleasures soon lose their charms in satiety, and he grows weary of his very existence. The man who indulges in idleness is never contented or happy. He continually seeks some new pleasure, which may dispel the gloom of his mind. But the malady is within himself, and until it be eradicated, the patient never can be cured. A thorough change of disposition must be made; he must act upon new principles, and with new motives; he must begin, as it were, a new life. Then, and not till then, can he expect to realize the benefits of industry. His life will then glide on, smoothly, and happily; he will hail the day when he first felt her influence; and will gladly confess that "her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths peace.' GEORGE CHAPMAN. LIST OF PRIZES FOR 1825. For the best Latin Poem in Hexameter verse, consisting of not less than eighty, nor more than a hundred verses, will be awarded the For the second best For the best Latin Poem in alternate Hexameter tameter verse, of the same number of verses For the second best For the best Latin Ode, Horatian measure First Prize. Second Prize. and Pen First Prize. First Prize. For the best Latin version of the 76 first lines of Pope's "Essay on Man" · For the best Ode in Greek, Sapphic verse, For the best Theme in Latin For the second best For the best Theme in English For the second best For the best Poem in English First Prize. First Prize. First Prize. First Prize. For the best Poetical translation of 14th Ode, 2d Book, Hor. Y First Prize. For the best translation of the Life of Thras bulus from For the second best First Prize. Second Prize. For the best translation of the life of Coriolanus from Viri Romæ, by a boy not higher than the 4th class First Prize. For the second best Second Prize. For the best Declamation in English, Latin, or Greek For the two second best First Prize. Second Prize. Third Prize. The above prizes will be given in gold and silver medals or in books, at the option of the receivers: provided, nevertheless, that there be no obligation to award a prize to a performance undeserving of it, merely because there is no other of the kind; and provided also that the means be furnished wherewith to pay them. The exercises must be presented for examination by the 15th of June 1825. |