6 the consent of that Association, do hereby become an Auxiliary Society, under the name of Auxiliary Association of the Young Men of Baltimore, for the promotion of Literature and Science.' Resolved, That a Committee be appointed to prepare a Constitution and By-laws for the Association, and that the same be submitted for consideration on Thursday, the 6th of December next. Resolved, That after the adoption of a Constitution and By-Laws, and the full organization of this Association, the Corresponding Secretary be requested to prepare a letter, addressed to the Boston Association, informing them of the proceedings of this meeting, and requesting their concurrence in its views and objects; and desire that their Secretary may reciprocally communicate, from time to time, with this Association, so that both societies may be fully informed of the more important means adopted by each for the promotion of the objects of said societies. Upon motion of Mr. Thomas L. Bond, Resolved, That in accordance with the foregoing resolutions, the Chairman now appoint a committee of three, for the purpose of drafting a Constitution and By-Laws; and that the same be requested to report at the next meeting-and that the Chairman be one of that committee. Whereupon, the Chair appointed Messrs. Wallis, Bond, and Frick, a committee for this purpose. The Association has since been duly organized, and has commenced operations with every prospect of accomplishing the highly important ends, to promote which it was instituted. The following gentlemen were elected officers for the present year : OLIVER S. JENKINS, President. T. WALLIS & G. BAKER, Vice Presidents. F. TALBOTT, Treasurer. F. W. HOFFMAN, Corresponding Secretary. YOUNG MEN'S BENEVOLENT SOCIETY.-It is gratifying to know that this Society is about to present its claims to the young men generally, in a more public manner than has hitherto been done. The society numbers at present nearly one hundred members, but its objects being very deserving, and at the same time such as encroach but very little either upon the time or purse, they should be liberally promoted. It is proposed to call a public meeting, in the course of a few weeks, for the purpose of annexing to the list of members the names of such young men, as may then be inclined to join. We trust their success will be commensurate with the claims of their objects. BOSTON LYCEUM.-Lectures have been delivered before this popular Association this season, on the Mind, Elocution, Education of the Moral Powers, Indian Civilization, Books, Slavery and the Colonization Society, Business and Study, and the Blind. A Eulogy on Dr. Spurzheim has also been given by Dr. Grigg. The discussion of a question relating to business men holding public stations, has occupied two evenings. The meetings have been well attended, and great interest exhibited. The lecture on the Blind, given by Dr. Howe, at the last meeting, was listened to by a large audience, and received with unbounded satisfaction. Several of his pupils were present, one of whom, a little girl, gave an exhibition of some of her acquirements, to the great astonand gratification of the auditors. Most of the Classes are in a flourishing condition; one of them will probably exhibit before the Lyceum in the course of six or eight weeks. VOL. I. THE ESSAYIST. MARCH, 1833. No. XI. THE CULTIVATION OF THOUGHT. 'The authority of all possible truths exist for me only on this ground-that in the free exercise of thought they are evident to me.'-DESCARTES. THOUGHT IS Confessedly the most wonderful and interesting manifestation of mind, and a power the sublimest and most subtle in the universe. Embodied in literature it is the grand representative of humanity; assuming the form of opinion, it is the mightiest agent under heaven; existing in every human bosom, it is in itself felicity or woe. Even in its debasement, as the gleams of its native splendour, ever and anon, make its desolation more apparent, the grandeur of the ruin will inspire awe. If viewed as it pours itself forth amid the attractions of the material world, directs its devoted capacity to the labors of philanthropy, or, winged by religion, mounts to its celestial home-under the incitement of the idea every endeavor will be put forth in its cultivation. We propose in the present essay, to take a concise view of some of the habits of thought conducive to the improvement of the thinking faculty. The power of thought, like all the spiritual endowments of man, can indeed only be studied through its manifestations; yet these are amply sufficient to impress us with a conviction of its unlimited energy, and acquaint us with its most important laws and phenomena. We perceive then, that this faculty is developed in each individual according to his peculiar taste or affective powers. The incitements to intellectual action, therefore, are as numerous as our relations to God, to Nature and to our fellow beings. Yet there is another class of incentives tending to the same result, and no less effective those which are included in that host of personal motives existing in every mind. Even our physical infirmities minister to mental activity; and the knowledge of this truth led Lord Bacon to ascribe the foundation of all philosophy to the fact that we have a great deal of curiosity and very bad eyes.' Our thoughts are either the product of study, or they rise spontaneously, excited by some obvious circumstance, perhaps, or by some cause imperceptible even to ourselves. Still, it is a plain, and to a conscientious mind, a solemn consideration, that we not only possess the power of directing our thinking faculties, but are capable of acquiring habits of thought which will not only influence but give a decided character to our most involuntary reveries and vaguest musings. The first application of thought, incumbent on one who designs to cultivate and exercise this faculty according to its legitimate wants and powers, is to force back the mind To settle on itself;' in other words to reflect. This is requisite, not only that by contemplating its own unlimited power of progress and energetic action, an impetus may be given which shall awaken thought, but because every individual mind should know itself, study its peculiar tastes and excellencies, seek to understand its errors and weaknesses, and, by this self-knowledge, avoid a misapplication of its powers, and an erroneous opinion of its character. It is true that reflection, in its legitimate exercise, is an act requiring great intellectual and moral maturity; still it should properly precede any foreign application of thought, any grand attempt to grapple with a great subject, to create original ideas, or embody mighty conceptions. The true proprium ingenium can, obviously, only be learned by individual reflection. This self-communion will most forcibly suggest the duty of cultivating thought; and the first object to be attained, in its performance, is the acquisition of a thoughtful spirit-the habitual exercise of thought, not its neglect and abandonment to every varying influence. We may go on augmenting spiritual distinctions, and set innumerable mental and moral criterions of human conduct, but the truth is, what chiefly distinguishes the virtuous from the vicious, and genius from stupidity, is the various treatment of this faculty. Among the most natural, but perhaps least cultivated applications of thought, is that which we term observation; an exercise of mind which, when applied with discrimination and constancy, is an important function of the intellectual system. It embraces the study of outward objects, from the noblest exhibition of natural beauty to the simplest of artificial contrivances. On the right and habitual observation of men and things, the success of other applications of thought greatly depend. Men who have been true to their capacity of accurate observation, have given ample evidence of the important relation which this exercise sustains to general mental cultivation. Their productions, being chiefly the results of observation, constitute the most attractive, not to say the most valuable fruits of mind. They comprehend the only truly standard works on the natural sciences, because founded on experiment. They form the most admirable metaphysical treatises, being predicated on the study of man's nature, not as manifested by individual consciousness, but as illustrated on the stage of existence. They attest the truth of revelation, and illustrate moral phenomena, with an unequalled power of conviction; for they draw a living testimony from nature and providence. To the natural and interesting enquiry-Why is it that the spirit of observation sleeps in so many bosoms, unimproved and scarcely exerted?-various answers may be given. According to some philosophers it is explicable by inherent diversities of mental constitution. But many, perhaps most men, are insensible to their connexion with what is about them. They feel not that the stupendous operations and thrilling scenes of nature, the effects of great principles, and the lessons of individual experience, which make up the history of human society, have a direct and preconcerted bearing, not only upon mankind in general, but upon the highest interests of every human being. A sense of this truth would couch the observing eye, introduce man into a new and exciting school, and elicit his active powers; for, as was said by one whose nearness to the spiritual world had quickened his finer sensibilities, we should sympathise with all things would we condescend to observe all things.' 6 There is another means of cultivating thought, which would readily suggest itself to an enlightened selfishness, the faithful improvement of hours of intellectual illumination and vigor. Whatever romance and error there may be in the idea of poetical inspiration, as confined to certain periods and dependent on particular influences, we are all sensible at some seasons, of an unwonted perspicacity of intellect and fertility of imagination; when we perceive, as it were, through a rarer medium, and objects appear in their just proportions-the sen |