Show 14 r 11 1 T y T H HE E DE SE SERET R E T NE NEWS W S r OPENING ADDRESS i k i ot of brother groit gruit tryde kittl dai dAl delivered vered before h his hib s thib this social hail hall inthis city on tuesday evening De december 1658 ano AMO SISTERS allow me to congratulate you upon this oc casion caslon 0 of assembling yourselves together for the laudable and praiseworthy praise worthy object of engaging g ag ing in in a course cours e of studies in the science of the english language I 1 can not withhold an expression ot 0 my feelings of gratitude to our OU father fathe r in jle jie heaven aven that we are blest with peace tranquility and health and abo ako with the staple necessaries and comforts of life I 1 humbly bumbly hope that we are all exercised with that gratitude to our supreme ruler which his hia manifold favors extended to us so richly and fully demand in consequence of the troubles which you yand vand your parents have bave undergone years that are past some and perhaps I 1 may say many of you yoli have not met with an earlier convenient opportunity to acquire the kind of know i ledge edge you now seek late however as the IV hour is there yet remains sufficient time if well improved to remove the embarrassments embarrass ments under which you may have labored and to em belish your minds with jewels that will render you distinguished whether destined to move in the humble or more elevated walks of life A thor thorough ough bugh knowledge of our own mother tongue is is an important key to that wide field of usefulness which in this day more especially An alvites invites vites the energies and enterprise enter prize of the rising generation than at any former period perio d in the history of the world by some the inspiration of god is considered to supersede supercede super cede the necessity of this and every other science on this erroneous principle some of you may act and require me to impart to you a knowledge ledge e of our dur language lar far guage without any mental labor on your part T this 1 1 I would not do it if I 1 could for I 1 do not want this class dishonored with one drone in the hive I 1 intend to do my duty and shall expect you to do yours al though I 1 thus spear speak I 1 do not believe that any one of you entertains any such opinion persona persons of this faith will not come here for the object that has called you out it is true that god generally calls upon the illiterate or un learned to bear his bis name and testimony to the i world in this the policy of our heavenly father differs materially from that of the world under his ilic Elic policy ynone none can say that the important truths which ich the servant of god is required to deg dep declare lare iare are the result of his great or superior learning but the question with me roe ie is must the servant of god always remain an uh unpolished polished shaft in the quiver of the almighty I 1 answer no the spirit of god directs improvement in every thing that is goo good d and useful if any doubt this consider what our leading men were when called and then consider what they now are the inspiration of god sometimes furnishes the words but more generally the thoughts only oni theil then a flow of correct language is highly useful to convey those thoughts th doubts clearly and distinctly to others city creek reek i is a gracious bounty and gift of haven heaven to this community yet it requires no small amount of manual labor labon labarto to con duct atrin it in suitable portions to every citizens i door the candle of the lord was never lighted edep up in in any mans heart to be put under a bushel bus hel bel it will bring him into public notoriety and be he must of necessity communicate with others if he understand not his own lan lav language guage correctly he be is often put to the trouble of applying to another to correct his sayings and sometimes under circum i stances that are mortifying and humiliating tin tid g or suffer an exposure ex s osbire that might be still more unpleasant an and annoying to his bis feelings A few months of diligent application to the study of grammar Gram marwill will carry you beyond the reach of all these little perplexities and em barrass ments and place you upon the summit orthis of this science from whence you may giewat a glance the wisdom of those who are with the folly of them beneath you without a second person to explain the point out the oiher other there are persons who profess a knowledge of grammar and yet they pretend to say that there are no do correct rules of language were I 1 to attempt to pass off upon any one of you a base or counterfeit dollar and being detected in my my dishonest dishonesty should attempt to justify my self by saying all dollars contain more or less alloy and my bogus dollar is just as good ag as any other would my apology be satisfactory to you no you would naturally conclude my self justification to be an index to a heart not wholly fortified by correct prin caples I 1 am free to admit that since the original language was confounded at the tower of babel no perfect system of communications has bas existed on earth to my knowledge and consequently a perfect set of rules could not i apply to an imperfect language but is this a sufficient reason why we should condemn all the rules of syntax which are the result of the combined wisdom and labor of ages adapted in the best possible way to the construction and use of speech such sweeping declarations may generally be regarded more as an effort on the part of the delinquent to hide some radical violations of just laws than the display of af any real wisdom or merit we might just jut aa as well say that men are of no account or worth because they are imperfect and hence go to heaven and deal with them there as ah they ey were before they came to earth arid and made flesh their tabernacle even then such rabid op posers to any thing that has the scent of imperfection might find themselves disappointed and disgusted even in the presence of the holy holi one for we read that he char geth his anzis with folly there are some also who affect to place iway iwai i i more confidence in their own literary acquin acquire in ments ats than thin many miny others can conscientiously y do they often resort lo 10 the greek and latin languages to justify any aberrations of theirs from the known a and d established rules of the english language there are just as many imperfections in those languages as there are in the Eng english all ali languages inheriting sim ilar effects from the great confusion hence if Y you ou show the cloven foot inthe in the english L language guage you cannot hide bide it under the folds of the greek or latin j some of you my friend have a limited knowledge of lieba hebrew w greek gidek and latin latib some a pretty fair knowledge of german french and spanish but permit me here to suggest one important rule or caution to be observed by all who wish to be thought correctly educated never volunteer the introduction of of a foreign language in conversation with the un unlearn learneL ec if you do 0 you may be regarded as novices and in the light of holy writ as he athens and barbarians moreover such pedantic dantic or ostentatious claims to superior re knowledge ino ido cledge are palpable breaches of good ma manners liners he that is at war with the rules of the english language cannot fail to give un j welcome evidences of the fact in his speech 1 and writings we are bound my friends to deal with men as we find them perfect or imperfect 3 arid and we are also bound to use their language as we find it and as they use it if we put ourselves in communication with them with wish the hope bope arid and expectation of doing them good and of guiding their actions we are met for the purpose my brethren and sisters of acquiring this very kind of knowledge and I 1 trust that you are aye all sufficiently impressed with the importance of this branch of learning to stimulate you to toj toi that diligence patience and perseverance in ini i applying yourselves to its acquini cannot fail to secure to you the object of your pursuit permit me here to speak to you in jr much plainness to become thorough grammarians requires much mental labor the lazy and inactive mind cannot penetrate far into the intricacies of language you must give to this branch you your r undivided attention if you expect to progress with the rapidity that you desir it is worthy of all the attention you can give it how often have I 1 beard men say 1 I would give a thousand dollars to understand the rules of language and the their I 1 i r proper application to practical use 2 f Consi consider dir now that in the short space of fifteen weeks a seabon season of th the e yar in which you can do little else to profit you may be led by the bandoff hani hand of your teacher gently forward in the pursuit of this study and at the expiration of the term you rna ina may y continue your progress alone without an in instructor ton tor to take you by the hand band so suffer affer no sloth inactivity or ordinary business to prevent your attendance at every lesson if you will all be diligent between lessons and laber labor for yourselves as faithful as I 1 intend to labor for you you shall be able at the close of this school to march boldly forward without further aiato the most el elevated e bated he heights abts of oi grammatical science I 1 cannot flatter you with the expectation that you will know it t all at the close of this term lest your disappointment should so far react re act upon your maiv minris s as to induce you to cease your efforts to learn there is no end to the path of science and improvement learn all you can in this world that is good and true and ani nd it will only form the basis or G grammar bammar of that higher order of education that awaits you among the he classified millions that have gone up to celestial institutions through h the rugged and thorny way that has been sanctified and honored by the footsteps of of him who 4 taught as one having authority and not as the scribes I 1 am pleased to see you all apparently cher chee cheerful erful and lighthearted light hearted buoyant with hope and expectation feeling feelings 11 good and true warm and kindly virtue and integrity with due respect for others according to st station a and circumstances will secure to you a continuation of that bat glow of charity and goodwill which now animates your breasts and when you shall bid adieu adien to earth may your garments be clean and white 11 thoroughly washed in the blood of the L amb lamb ant ani met with a kindly welcome in your fathers housel I 1 will try to be with you there heaven bless biess the pure in heart b henceforth e nce forth and forever FALSE NOTIONS OF government VIGOR how easy it is to shed human blood how bow easy it is to persuade ourselves that it is our duty to do so and that the decision has cost us a severe struggle strul struggle gle gie how bow much in all ages have wounds an and I 1 shrieks and lears leara been the cheap and vulgar resources of the rulers of mankind bow how difficult and how bow noble it is to govern in in kindness and to found an empire upon the everlasting basis of justice and affection but what do co men call vigor to let loose hussers hussars hus sara sars and to bring up artil artillery I 1 ery to govern with lighted matches and to cut and push and prime I 1 call this not vigor but the sl sloth bloth oth of cruelty and ignorance the vigor I 1 love iove consists in finding out wherein subjects are aggrieved in relieving them in studying the temper and genius of a people in consulting their poeju dices in selecting proper persons persona to lead and manage them in the laborious watchful and difficult task of increasing public happiness b by allaying each particular discontent in g this is way only will ireland ever be subdued but this in the eyes of mr perceval is imbecility arid and meanness houses bouses are not broken open women are not insulted the people seem all to be happy they are not ridden over by horses borses and cut by whips do you call this vigor Is this government rev sydney smith I 1 I 1 DESERET DESE I 1 bet RET N W 8 a W ZY 17 9 ALBERT carrington EDITOR wednesday december lii lil 15 1858 |