A discourse on the privileges and duties of man as a progressive being : delivered before the New-York Alpha of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, July 23, 1833 / by Benjamin F. Joslin.

  • Joslin, Benjamin F. (Benjamin Franklin), 1796-1861.
Date:
1833
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A discourse on the privileges and duties of man as a progressive being : delivered before the New-York Alpha of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, July 23, 1833 / by Benjamin F. Joslin. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    lingerings, shall every Polish heart vibrate with the satisfac- tion that beams from every Polish eye, and the sun on which Copernicus turned in perpetual gazing, shall for the first time visit his image with its glorious beams. My brethren, in fallen Warsaw those glorious beams still illuminate that cherished image ; but they no longer gladden the hearts of a free people. The discoveries of Copernicus are still ope- rative in guiding the contemplations and researches of man; but where is the fruit of the sacrifices of Skrzynecki ? Alas! The influence of his brave and generous example is all that remains. If we cast our eyes over the map of the civilized world, and view the degree of civil and religious liberty enjoyed, we shall not invariably, perhaps not generally, have the sat- isfaction of perceiving, from the comparison of two conse- cutive centuries, any progressive amelioration. In the mod- ern history of some countries, and especially our own, there is much to justify pleasing reflections on the past and san- guine hopes for the future. But are these hopes to be founded chiefly and primarily on the effect of salutary political institutions, and not rather on the influence which an advanced and progressive condition of society exerts in the attainment and preservation of these institutions ? If man be the passive recipient of freedom, it may flow out as it flowed in ; what is merely achieved for him by a hero may be snatched from him by an usurper. Who is not familiar with such examples ? And what philanthropist has not sickened at the sight, and anxiously inquired for some permanent improvement in the condition of his race; for some good which is stable, or some attainment which is pro- gressive; some polar star whose mutations are slight, or some sun which is for ever advancing. Science affords such an object; sometimes nearly sta- tionary, generally progressive. The progress of the human