Excerpt from Oration Before the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Brown University: Providence, R. L., On Commencement Day, September 7, 1842 Such a survey will show that there are many circumstances in our present condition, leading to the belief, that the generation now rising into active life, in America, is destined to exert an uncommon influence on the fortunes, not only of our country, but of the whole human race; and it is my pur pose at this time to point out some of those cir cumstances, and some of the dangers and the duties, that attend its career. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.