The wonders of the ancient world, the pyramids of Egypt, the Colossus of Rhodes, the temple at Ephesus, the mausoleum of Artemisia, the wall of China, sink into insignificance before it:--insignificance in the mass and momentum of human labor required for the execution--insignificance in comparison of the purposes to be accomplished by the work when executed.

It is, therefore, a pleasing contemplation to those sanguine and patriotic spirits who have so long looked with hope to the completion of this undertaking, that it unites the moral power and resources--first, of numerous individuals--secondly, of the corporate cities of Washington, Georgetown, and Alexandria--thirdly, of the great and powerful States of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland--and lastly, by the subscription authorized at the recent session of Congress, of the whole Union.
"Friends and Fellow-laborers.

We are informed by the holy oracles of truth, that, at the creation of man, male and female, the Lord of the universe, their Maker, blessed them, and said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it.

To subdue the earth was, therefore, one of the first duties assigned to man at his creation; and now, in his fallen condition, it remains among the most excellent of his occupations.

To subdue the earth is pre-eminently the purpose of the undertaking, to the accomplishment of which the first stroke of the spade is now to be struck.