nothing worth. He came from the soil; he
lives on the soil; and he must return to the soil. _De gustibus, non est
disputandum._ So much for man in his natural state, breathing his natural
air, surrounded by his natural horizon, and luxuriating in his natural
prerogatives. But this is a very limited view of the question. Man is
expansive, aggressive, acquisitive. _Vox populi, vox Dei._ Having
acquired, he wills to acquire. Acquisition suggests acquisition. Conquest
promotes conquest. And, speaking of conquests, the greatest of all
conquests is that which a man obtains over himself--provided always that
he does obtain it. This secured, he may consider himself up to anything.
_Arma virumque cano._ Owning the soil by right of possession; owning
himself by right of conquest; and, being about to establish a form of
government conformable to his own views of right and wrong; let him
protect the right, confound the wrong, and make his own selection of
subordinate officers. _Mus cucurrit plenum sed._"

This, by way of illustration. The Jay style sounds the best: the
dollar-a-page style pays the best. But the dollar-a-page system is a very
bad one for the well-being of our newspaper and periodical literature,
simply because the chief inducement is on the wrong side. If an author
receives twice as much pay for a page as for half a page, he will write a
page as a matter of course; and, as a matter of course, the quality of
what he writes will be depreciated in geometrical proportion. For the same
thing, said in few words, is ten times more effectual than when said in
many words.

No doubt, different subjects require different handling, and more space is
needed for some than for others. An essay is not necessarily too long
because it fills five columns, or fifty pages; but periodical and
newspaper writing demands compactness, conciseness, concentration; and the
fact of being paid by measurement, is a writer's ever-present temptation
to disregard this demand.

The conceit of estimating the value of an article by its length and rating
the longest at the highest price, is about as wise as to estimate a man
by his inches instead of his intellect.

Certain names there are in the literary world, which carry great weight in
a reader's regard, independently of the quality of the contributions. If a
Sir Walter Scott were to write for the _North American Review_, he would
temporarily elevate the reputation of the Review, however carelessly