Harpers Ferry Free Press

EXTRACT FROM WIRT.

"Excessive wealth is neither glory nor Happiness. The cold and sordid wretch, Who thinks only for himself; who draws His head within its shell, and never puts It out, but for the purposes of lucre and Ostentation--who looks upon his fellow Creatures not only without sympathy, But with arrogance and insolence, as if They were made to be his vassals, and he Was made to be their lord--as if they Were formed for no other purpose than To pander his avarice, or to contribute To his aggrandisement--such a man may Be rich, but trust me that he can never Be happy, nor virtuous, nor great. There Is in fortune a golden mean, which is the Appropriate region of virtue and intelligence. Be content with that: and if the Horn of plenty overflow, let its droppings Fall upon your fellow men; let them fall. Like the droppings of honey in the wilderness, to cheer the faint and way worn Pilgrim. I wish you indeed to be distinguished; but wealth is not essential to Distinction. Look at the illustrious patriots, philosophers and philanthropists, Who in various ages have blessed the World; was it their wealth that made them Great? Where was the wealth of Aristides, of Socrates, of Plato, of Epaminondas, of Fabricius, of Cincinnatus, and a Countless host upon the rolls of fame. Their wealth was in the mind and the Heart. Those are the treasures by which They have been immortalized, and such Alone are the treasures that are worth a Serious struggle."