< ■ c r S ^'-^ -^s^ ^ c 5^ ■i^cccc '< r V «-<• *c:cc< c CCv c ^_ li C C d'Cl «c c c ' ^ < '■ -ttsC • c c .< ■<*C c.c : «c c c ^■' 5 "d c: ■. c :;. c c <: f . C C '" c c . c c , ; c c ' c c :^c «: C C C!CC < . c C < iC < C C ; d^d ^ c . , r- CccC < <^ CccC ^ > dc < V <2 c < c -<:< Ccc c c c c 55 ^' ^ <^>^ ^ .c c Vc%\Vc ^ cr cc ^^^ /^^^ -d-. c ■ c . :CC _c__: ?! ^J 1^^ " - '" d ' c ^ "C ^ ^ -^^ ^^ dC c d ' dec <.. dec . 270 Understanding Doctrines 271 Goldfinch Divinity 272 The Child's Heart the true Catechism , 273 Words for Words, but no Meaning 274 Questions for Deadening the Mind ib. Conversion Healthy or Sickly • • • • 276 The Child never without God 277 Profaneness of Unmeaning Prayer 278 Prayer by Compulsion 279 Secret and Social Prayer 280 Religious Opportunities ib. Praying made easy 281 Complete Doctrinal Prayers 283 Contrition and Dogmatism 284 GaU «. GaU 285 Conclusion. Educate in Spirit and in Truth 286 Prepare the Way of the Lord 287 LECTURE I. WHAT ARE THE RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF THE FAMILY AND OF SOCIETY AT LARGE, RESPECTING THE EDUCA- TION OF CHILDREN BELONGING TO THEM ? It is now more than two thousand years since Plato, the profoundest of all the philosophers of the pagan world, when propounding, in his Work on the Republic, the ideas which he entertained concerning education, ex- pressed at the same time his apprehension lest his views might be considered as a mere theory, without practical usefulness, and therefore of questionable value. The mode of education, he observes, which he had to pro- pose, would clash too much with the prevailing prejudices of his fellow citizens, for him to expect that they could impartially examine his principles, or consider the results he anticipated from them as any thing but pious wishes. The same difficulties under which Plato found himself then labouring, are, I apprehend, still remaining in the way of those who have to propose a mode of education different from that which the opinion of the age has sanctioned. The natural antipathy of human nature against principles is undiminished, and mankind at large are still as blind as they ever were, to all but visible facts displayed before their eyes. Of this I am perfectly aware; but, so far from deterring me, it operates rather a UNPOPULAllITY OF THE SUBJECT. as an additional reason for me to persist in advocating those principles, however abstract, the application of which to the education of the rising generation I conceive to be the only remedy for those evils under which we are labouring. Not t^at I expect that those principles will rapidly gain groupd with the public at large, or be car- ried generally int0 effect ; I freely own, that I do not hope myself, to see them applied to the education of the mass of the people, or even partially, to any considerable extent, in my life time. But this does not form an ob- jection to those principles in themselves ; for the slightest glance over the history of mankind will convince us, that none of those ideas by which pur species has been essentially and lastingly benefitted, were ever reduced to practice, or even acknowledged as practicable, at the time when they were proclaimed. Nor do I perceive in this any inducement to desist from advocating such principles, or urging them upon the public. The task may be an ungrateful one, but it is no less binding, no less sacred. No generation of men ever knew, or were able to under- stand, their own wants ; they pined under the evils which their own folly, or that, perhaps, of their fore- fathers, had entailed upon them; but to the cure they were always blind; so much so, that the greater the evil, the greater has invariably their blindness been. If these remarks hold good concerning the history of past ages, certainly they are still more applicable to the state of things in our own time. Never, perhaps, at any for- mer period of the history of mankind was the want of improvement, and the wish for it, more generally felt and expressed ; and never perhaps was the darkness so great respecting the principles, from the active operation of which that improvement was to be expected. And never was it more necessary that those principles should be loudly and boldly proclaimed ; for, in addition to all the other evils, under which we are suffering, a spirit of compromise has gone abroad, which bids fair to mar the ox WHAT GROUNDS IT MAY BE VIEWED, «5 exertions, even of those whose hearts and minds are not shut to the claims which the state of the mass at large, makes upon the energies of the more enlightened. The evils, of which we complain, are such as require a radi- cal cure, — I do not use the word radical here in its obnoxious sense — and a radical cure is of all things that which human nature most dreads and resists. Hence it is that, in our days, many of those whose attention and endeavours are directed towards the means of amelio- rating the condition of their fellow creatures, allow them- selves to be betrayed, by a well meant but mistaken anxiety to gain the concurrence of the public in the mea- sures proposed by them, into a compromise of the very principles which they advocate, and upon which they pretend to act. They clog their own power by an al- liance, both unlawful and impolitic, with the very pre- judices against which they are making war, and thus of necessity defeat their own end. Deeply impressed as I am with the baneful consequences of that mistake, I feel it my duty, more than ever, to state, without any dis- guise, and without any attempt at conformity with the leading opinions of the day, those principles, however unpopular, by which the education of our youth ought to be guided and regulated This I shall do on the pre- sent occasion ; and I thought it right openly to avow this my intention, in order that you may not feel disappointed if you find me, as you certainly will do, now and then, travelling far away — not I trust from the nature of things, but from the state of things as it is at present. After this short introduction, I shall at once proceed to the first of the questions proposed, viz. " What are the " rights and duties of the family, and of society at " large, respecting the education of children belonging to " them." This question can be answered on two grounds : first, as a matter of mere policy, according to the dictates, as it is called, of human reason ; and, secondly, in a religious point of view. For the present, I shall confine B 2 4 THE SOCIAL GROUND EXAMINED. myself to the former inquiry, reserving the latter for another opportunity. The premises which we have to go upon, when endea- vouring to determine, on social grounds, the respective rights and duties of the community, and of the family, concerning the education of their children, are simply the two facts, that society exists, and that children are bom and must necessarily grow up in it. From these premises, which men have endeavoured to modify, but which they could never entirely do away with, all the inquiries made into this subject have begun, and a variety of theoretical schemes and practical systems have successively been built upon them. In two opposite 'directions the very extremes have been reached, the one at the earliest, the other at the latest period of philosophy ; and I do not think that there is any intermediate shade between those ex- tremes which has not been propounded in theory, or attempted in practice, at some time and in some nation. The maxim, that the child belonged to society, and was to be educated for it, was carried to such an extent by Plato, that, in entire disregard of the strongest and the most sacred feelings of the human bosom, he proposed the separation of the infant from the mother at the very instant of birth ; and although he claimed the services of the mother in nursing, yet his arrangements were such as to prevent, as far as possible, her discerning her own offspring, in the number of children, amongst which it was placed : so that if perchance she should happen to nurse her own infant, she should do so without knowing it to be hers. Whilst in this manner Plato claimed the child entirely and exclusively for society, Rousseau fell into the other extreme, to educate man entirely and exclusively for himself. The endless variety of systems, holding the middle between those two extremes, that have either been practically tried, or at least set forth in theory, I shall not undertake to enumerate ; but I think it will not be incon- gruous with our present purpose, to take a short review HISTORY OF EDUCATION. 5 of the state of education, as it was at different periods among the principal nations of the civilized world; in order to see, what share society has in every instance taken in the accomplishment of so important a task. If we go to the cradle of pagan civilization, and to the first establishment of social institutions, to the oriental states of Hindostan, China, Persia, and their less con- spicuous neighbours, including all the nations celebrated in antiquity, which had their abode to the East of the Tigris, as well as Egypt, which, previously to the Greek influence upon it, belonged to the same class, — we find that educa- tion, like every thing else, bore there not a progressive, but a stationary character. Their religious systems were a sort of petrifaction of those spiritual truths, of which mankind have been put in possession by a primitive revelation, but the nature of which was greatly perverted in the course of tradition. Incapable of seeing them in spirit and in truth, the inhabitants of the South of Asia incorporated them, as it were, in their view of visible nature, by whose grandeur and beauty, as displayed in those countries, not their senses only, but their minds also had been led captive. Having thus fallen under the bondage of the earth, the genius of those nations became essentially earthy ; their social institutions accordingly were entirely modelled upon the distinctions produced between different classes of men in consequence of the peculiar manner in which every one of them was brought in contact with that outward world, which, to them, was the comprehension of the universe. The cha- racter of man and his social existence depended not upon the intellectual and moral elements of his being, but upon the sort of intercourse, as it were, which existed between him and nature, of whom all were equally the slaves. Hence the division in castes, according to the different employments and trades which the imperious call of ne- cessity created at the first origin of society ; and hence an education, which had no other object than to make 6 THE ORIEXTAL NATIONS. man, whatever the constitution of his inward nature might be, outwardly a fit member of that caste in which he was bom,— an education, which employed for the attainment of that object, no other means but those which that same caste afforded. To this national and individual thraldom, we must attribute the moral barrenness of the long aged records of those superannuated states of the eastern world, and the never ceasing circle of sameness, in which their national life has been revolving, wherever it was not interrupted by foreign invasions, from the earliest dawn of civilization, down to the present day, without any other change than the inevitable one of slow decrepitude. Of the genius of those mercantile tribes, which extended themselves from the shores of the Persian Gulf over the plains of the Euphrates, and froro thence to the eastern coasts of the Mediterranean, and the north-west border of Africa, but little is known. The philosopher can no more trace the effects of their civilization in the moral history of mankind, than the traveller can discover the remains of their splendid structures in the sands which have covered their dwelling-places ; and from this fact, as well as from the mean and short-sighted spirit of their nobility, so often exhibited in the records of their political history, the inference is, I think, neither rash nor pre- sumptuous, that their education, calculated only for the temporary purposes of gain, though it may have rendered subservient to those purposes some of the mental powers of man, yet had never a direct bearing upon the develop- ment and cultivation of his immortal nature ; nor, on the other hand, any public tendency, but inasmuch as ambi- tion, and the love of admiration may have given an addi- tional stimulus to the spirit of trade, in communities in which wealth was the chief qualification for the posses- sion of power. A brighter prospect, however, opens before us, when we come farther west and north, to the shores of Greece, ANCIKKT GRliECE. ' whose cheerful and lively population, immortalized in the annals of human history, forms the connecting link between oriental and occidental civilization. The views which the Greeks took of education, the systems which they intro- duced in their diiferent republics, although inapplicable to a state of society formed under the influence of divine revelation, nevertheless still possess a high interest for us, inasmuch as they exhibit the most perfect patterns of education, which the pagan world has ever produced, and probably could ever produce, destitute as it was of the light of religion. The principle on which Greek educa- tion was founded, was that of the most absolute freedom of individual development, which the community pro- moted by affording ample opportunities and encourage- ment, rather than by making any authoritative provisions. It is true, that by the institutions of Sparta, that free- dom was greatly limited, if not entirely annihilated ; the child being at an early period of life separated from those to whom he was attached by natural ties, and brought under a system of discipline, calculated to render him both an obedient instrument and a faithful represen- tative, of that proud and independent spirit, which Ly- curgus designed should be the Spartan character. But it must not be forgotten, that Sparta forms rather an exception to the general character of the Greek republics ; and that Athens, as it gave, intellectually and morally, the tone to all Greece, so it is likewise the best in- stance to be adduced for exemplifying the spirit of Greek education. In the investigation of this subject, I am aware that a distinction ought to be made between the education of those who were destined for the service of the oracles and other temples, and the preparation which the greater number of the free-born youths underwent to be fitted for the pursuits of public life. The former deserves but little consideration, as it was confined to very partial and limited objects ; for al- 8 ANCIENT GREECE. though a superstitious deference was generally paid to some of the religious observances, and particularly to the decisions of oracles, yet this deference was not what can be properly called religious feeling ; it seems rather to have been analogous to the superstitious credulity which we often met with, even in enlightened persons, concerning matters in which they would scorn to profess a serious belief. It admits of great doubt, whether at any period of Greek history, the tales of mythology were considered by the enlightened part of the nation any better than as pleasing fictions ; indeed it is hardly to be conceived that a system of religion, in which all the supposed deities were purely the creatures of man's imagination, should ever have been more than a matter of poetical taste. This view of the subject is confirmed by the fact, that public educa- tion Avas carried on in Greece, quite independently of the priesthood. In consistency with the principles on which the whole frame of society was constituted in Greece, we find the education of their youths, as I ob- served before, founded on the basis of perfect individual liberty. A free career was opened to every child for the unfolding of his powers in such a direction, and to such an extent, as was most agreeable to the peculiar organization of his mind. To render those powers independent of the leading-strings of the pedagogue was the first object which the Greek teacher aimed at ; instead of endeavouring to keep his pupils under a pedantic bondage, as is the case among us, he exerted himself to emancipate them as early as possible. This was the object of the mathematical in- struction of the Greek schools, which, very different from that of our colleges and schools, consisted not in learning by rote a prescribed set of problems and solutions, but in an independent solution on the part of the pupil of such problems as the teacher conceived to be most adapted to his capacities, and the peculiar turn of his mind. To this instruction is that acuteness and penetration to be attri- ANCIENT GREECE. 9 buted, which, when abused for mean and selfish purposes, degenerated into cunning, and made the Greek name, in that respect, a by-word among the nations ; but when applied to the investigation of truth, led to those sublime theories, to which, although apprised of their errors by the superior light of revelation, we cannot refuse to pay the tribute of profound admiration. While such judicious care was bestowed upon the de- velopment of the intellect, still more powerful levers were applied to the moral feelings. The study of the fine arfs, and especially of poetry, whose harmonious notes re- echoed from shore to shore, and from island to island, formed the other and more important part of that almost irresistible combination of intellectual and moral influences, designated by the comprehensive name of /^ovo-ixn'. Thus inspired with a high poetic enthusiasm, and armed with the weapon of acute penetration, the Greek youth approached the study of philosophy, the investigation of the most abstruse as well as the most practical sub- jects, of the inner nature of man, as well as of his out- ward relations as a social being. The latitude which was in all their studies afforded to every individual, to in- vent, to think, to feel, and to apprehend for himself, was the life of their education, which became dead from the moment when the sophists began to reduce it into the forms of system and pedantry. To nothing else than this latitude, this individual liberty, is it to be attributed, that, within comparatively so short a period, and within so small an extent of territory, so many men rose up of eminent character, all strongly marked with the features of distinct originality, the powerful influence of which was so great, that whilst in other nations, and among the Greeks themselves in Sparta, the character of emi- nent men was determined by that of the nation : in Athens, on the contrary, and in other Greek states, the commu- nity assumed successively the different characters, how- 10 ANCIENT ROME. ever contradictory with eaich other, of those privileged individuals, whom natural endowments and a high degree of cultivation rendered, not by legal enactment, but by the universal consent of admiration, the rulers of their fellow citizens, and the tone-givers of their age. Very different from this picture is that which Rome presents. Rome's social constitution was, from its very beginning, nothing more nor less than a highly refined and highly consistent system of social selfishness. Much has been said of the disinterestedness of the Roman cha- racter, of that spirit of self-denial, and devotcdness to the universal welfare, which are praised up as the definitive virtue of that celebrated city ; but it has been forgotten that the very reverse of all this was the character which the Romans as a body displayed towards a world trodden in the dust by their unquenchable thirst of conquest. It has been forgotten that, if examples of self-sacrifice occur in Roman history, which are unparalleled in the records of any other Pagan nation, they were only the price paid for those phantoms of glory, by which the Republic re- warded the suppression of every independent thought, and of every free feeling of the human bosom. The self-de- nial was but an illusory one ; for every Roman looked with an eye of insatiable greediness to the commonwealth for his share of the national grandeur and glory, as a com- pensation, which he considered himself entitled to for the absolute sacrifice of his individual selfishness ; so that when the state was no longer able to satisf}'^ the progres- sively increasing demands of those impetuous creditors, the Roman threw off the ill-endured mask, and, in the entire dissolution of all social order, displayed individually that same character, which, as his national feature, had ren- dered him long before the execration of the world. It seems somewhat inconsistent with this absolute claim to the whole existence of every individual, which the Roman community preferred, and for a time enforced, that edu- ANCIEXT ROME. 11 cation should have been allowed to remain in the hands of the family. But the paradox is easily solved if we consider that the mother was no less a Roman than the father, and that the pride and ambition of the family was an atmosphere so favourable to the growth of those much lauded virtues of the Roman character, that the state, in leaving the child in the hands of the parent, so far from hazarding the public object of education, on the contrary secured it much more effectually than could have been done by any other means. The wisdom of this arrange- ment is sufficiently vindicated by its results. Nothing was introduced in the education of the young Roman, but what was immediately calculated to fit him for the pur- poses of the Republic ; religious education he received none, for there was not even at Rome so much as an edu- cation for the priesthood. The compendious system of superstition, which has sometimes been honoured with the name of the religion of Rome, was never any thing but a lever in the hands of the aristocracy, to set in motion, or arrest, at their pleasure, the brute force of the ignorant and credulous mass ; and, therefore, the priesthood was in Rome nothing but an appendage to the executive power. A splendid political and military career was in Rome the straight road to church preferment. How little Roman education had to do with science, with art and philosophy, is notorious enough. Down to the period of the conquest of Greece, those fruits of the Greek soil were entirely unknown in the invincible city ; and what estimation they were held in afterwards, is sufficiently evident from the fact, that the task of teaching them devolved exclusively upon slaves. There is, however, one school, and that a public one, in which the Roman youth received part of his education — I mean the camp. To make him a good soldier, and, if descended from an aristocratic family, a good general, the boy was domesticated in the tent as early as possible, there to be rendered familiar with the revolting scenes of the field of battle, and to be inured to 12 THE JEWISH THEOCRACY. that callousness of feeling, to that contempt of suffering and death, which was an essential ingredient in the cha- racter of a Roman. This was the education by which Rome insured victory and triumph to its rapacious eagles ! Having thus taken a short glance of the state of educa- tion as it was in the pagan world, it will be more easy for us to understand the change which was operated upon it by the introduction of Christianity. But before I proceed to this, it will be necessary that I should notice the cha- racter which education assumed under the influence of that theocratic principle upon which the social constitution of the Jewish nation was founded ; as it forms a most striking contrast with those schemes of human policy wliich I have before mentioned. Among the Jews, education was, as we might expect from the peculiar and eminent station assigned to that people in the history of the ancient world, Essentially religious. From the moment of birth the child was made subject to the ordinances of religion ; its earliest impressions must have been those of indispensable religious duty. Every occurrence of daily life was a means of bringing to the recollection of the youths of Israel, the God of their fathers, by whose will the whole of their lives was to be regulated ; and the visits which they paid, from the age of twelve years, three times every year, at the temple of Jerusalem, where the whole nation was on those solemn occasions assembled, gave to those religious feelings which domestic life had awakened, a national character. Then it was, that the idea of the invisible God ruling over his people Israel, and directing them in all their ways, received its full value, and its full force. Their priests and rulers were not men commanding in their own name ; they were the witnesses of the Most High, — his standard- bearers, — the messengers of his will and word among his people ; and every individual felt, that the direction of his heart, and the conduct of his life, belonged not to himself, but to the Lord. It was this absolute submission of the soul to the ruling power of the invisible Jehovah, — the THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 13 effect of a purely theocratic education, in those periods of the Jewish history, in which the people lived in the spirit, not after the letter of their dispensation, — that filled the whole nation with that high enthusiasm, with which they boldly held up the banners of the Lord of Hosts in the midst of an idolatrous world, and gained the most glo- rious triumphs over enemies, which, in a merely human point of view, must have overwhelmed them by the supe- riority of their power, as, in fact, they actually did, when- ever the spirit of the Lord was departed from the elected nation. Of great and lasting importance is, in this, as in so many other respects, the great example which God has set up in Israel; for in spite of the abundant profession which there is among us, of religious education, I have no hesitation in saying, that if it was not for the picture ex- hibited in the better times of the Jewish history, the world would not yet have had, down to the present day, a prac- tical illustration of the effect which the theocratic principle, the principle of the power and Spirit of God ruling over the heart of man, applied to education, has upon the cha- racter of individuals, and of nations. But I resume now the history of education in the Gen- tile world, considering the changes which the introduction of Christianity produced. We have not, that I afti awdre, any direct information respecting this subject, as it stood in the primitive Christian Church ; but, from what we know of its character in other respects, it will not be difficult to infer, with a high degree of certainty, what may have been the leading features of education among the early Christians. From the simple application, which was, at the very earliest period, made of the principles of brotherly love, upon the adminis- tration of the temporal concerns of believers, inducing them to establish among themselves community of goods, if not always in form, at least in spirit, and to unite in a sort of sacred household, — I should apprehend that the education of the first Christians was essentially domestic. From the meek and lovely character of the Christian dispensation 14 CHURCH a:nd state. itself, and from the heartfelt simplicity with which charity was received, in those times, as its leading feature, I should further infer, that the moving principle in education also was love rather than fear. The strict discipline which obtained in the early churches, for the sake of consistency between doctrine and pi'actice, as well as for the purpose of rigorous distinction from the pagan world, leads me to think, that attention to a proper conduct of life was a very essential point, also, in the domestic discipline ; and lastly, I should conclude from the social position in which the first Christian communities were placed, and the persecutions under which they were labouring, on one hand, that their virtues were more of a passive and negative, than of an active and positive nature : and, on the other, that the whole tendency of their education was not to direct the child's attention to the goods and enjoyments, the honours and preferments, of this world, but to render him conscious of those eternal treasures, which no human exertion can pro- cure, and no human persecution can take away. But this happy time — ^for, notwithstanding all its per- secutions, Christianity has never yet seen a happier one — did not last long. Political power erected itself arro- gantly as the protector of Christianity, and from this mo- ment the latter received in itself a seed of corruption, of which the subsequent generations have reaped many a baneful harvest, and for the extermination of which, there was no other remedy than that which has very recently begun to be adopted, viz., an entire separation between religion and the state. In consequence of this separation, those who have hitherto been accustomed to look to political power for the support of religion, and to associate with it the idea of worldly preferment, will be obliged to acknow- ledge the superiority of the living truth of divine revela- tion over the dead forms of human institution, and to view the grandeur and the honours of man's making, with that indifference which becomes those that are made ac- quainted with the greatness and the glory of the Kingdom CHURCH AXD PRIESTHOOD, 15 of God. Education, as one of the most vital and most sen- sitive parts of the social organization, soon began to feel the reaction of that uncongenial and pernicious alliance which religion had formed with human power. The unity of purpose which had existed in the primitive church ceased, and, with a twofold object, a twofold mode of edu- cation was introduced. Religious education became now in fact nothing more than the training for a particular trade ; whilst, on the other hand, the tuition of those des- tined for civil life, or a political career, included in itself a far greater proportion of pagan than of christian ele- ments. Of these two, the former became of necessity the more corrupt, because, with a higher profession of prin- ciple, it combined an equally low, and, in some instances, even a lower purpose than the latter. The first occasion of this corruption was an essential mistake, and one which, down to the present day, has not yet been sufficiently explored. The principle which has within the last years been laid do^vn as the basis of what is called civil and religious liberty, viz. : that religion has nothing to do with matters of state, is certainly a false one; but the principle of clerical ascendancy, in opposition to which it has been established, is not less false. The primitive idea which gave birth to the claim of supremacy on the part of the church over all worldly matters, was no doubt a cor- rect one — it was the undeniable, though, perhaps, at the present time, very unpractical idea, that the principles of religion, of course, pure and unadulterated, should be the only test and standard of all human transactions ; and in this sense it is strictly true, that the church ought not only to be allied with, but to rule over the state. Unfor- tunately, however, the principle was soon perverted by a substitution of the idea of priesthood to that of the church. The consequence of this important mistake was the promulgation of a principle, as false and pernicious as the former is true and salutary, namely, — that the priesthood should rule over, or at least participate in worldly power. In i6 MONACHISM AND CHIVALRY. this manner it was, that the ministry of religion, which was originally a humble service of God and man, rose above the common level of society, to competition of rank with its rulers. The foundation, nevertheless, on which these pre- tensions ultimately rested, was not to be lost sight of ; and the greater, therefore, the departure from the spirit of religion, the more necessary seemed a rigid adherence to its forms. In this contradiction of purpose and means originated the monastic education of the middle ages ; which, in matters of knowledge, confined itself, at each period, to the least possible degree of knowledge, abso- lutely required by the exigencies of the age, — giving, at the same time, this scanty allowance in the most pedantic and the most enthralling form ; and which, on the score of discipline, consisted in nothing else but an ostentatious display of outward austerity and sanctity, under which the most unrestrained and profane dispositions might lurk unmolested, and, under the aegis of secrecy, impunely obtain the basest and most sinful gratification. That this educa- tion, which chained down the intellect by a servile formal- ism, and acted upon the moral man by the most slavish fear, was, in its tendency, both anti-religious and anti- social, no one that has the slightest knowledge of mo- nastic history, will attempt to deny : nor will it be difiicult to prove, that the education of those destined to appear on the stage of civil or political life, was equally inconsistent, both with the dictates of religion and with the welfare of society. The only schools in which, during the middle ages, that sort of education was given, were the courts of princes. As to knowledge, it is no secret that its extent was extremely limited ; the chief objects of study being hawking, hunting, fencing, and some other acquirements of the like description ; and, as regards the motives which were principally brought into action, they were ambition, the thirst of distinction in the eyes of the prince, and of his courtiers, and the pride of a prowess, consisting in the possession of a stronger hand and a stouter heart, by THE REFORMATION.-^THE PRESENT AGE. 17 which a man was enabled, in plain speech, to knock down a greater number of his fellow creatures than his rival would either undertake or succeed in. In this splendid division of the field of human labour between monastic hypocrisy, and haughty Vanda- lism, the great mass of the people were — fortunately for them, no doubt, under such circumstances — entirely for- gotten ; and it was not till the time of the reformation that notice was taken of the mental and moral barrenness in which by far the largest proportion of the community had been allowed to grow up. The new impulse which the reformation gave to the march of civilization, and the jealous watchfulness with which the reformers inquired into the causes of the national thraldom of mind, brought to light the fearful ignorance in which the lower classes had been kept, and caused some provisions to be made for the education of the rising generations to a more enlight- ened state. But it was not to be expected, that those, who had themselves hardly emerged from a state of pedan- tic instruction, in many instances, perhaps, worse than ignorance, should at once be enabled to devise, and to bring into practice, a free and enlightened mode of tuition. Hence it is, that the education, insured to the poorer classes in consequence of the reformation, was itself poor enough. Indeed, that of the rich remained not less de- fective ; even at the present day, have we not to deplore, besides the narrowness of the instruction given in charity schools, the existence of a sad remnant of monastic spirit in Protestant seats of learning, and of Vandalism in the political and military career ? Within the last fifty years, however, these defects have been universally felt, and it is remarkable to see the ejfforts which have been making in the three principal countries of civilized Europe, Germany, France, and England, to ameliorate the state of education, so much the more, as they exhibit, in a very striking manner, the characteristic features of the three nations. In Germany, 18 'GERMAXV, FRANCE. in which there was, and still is, the smallest proportion of practical knowledge, in spite of a great deal of learning, or at least teaching, an attempt has been made to introduce topics of practical utility in the instruction of youth, and at the same time to get rid of the heavy forms in which all knowledge was till then communicated. Since the time of Basedow, who, in this respect, broke the ice, a number of schemes were successively palmed upon the German public, which had all for their object to convey knowledge of natural science, and other topics of real life, in a pleasing, or rather in a trifling manner, by means of dialogizing tales, in which a great variety of matter is introduced, as it were, by the way of a propos, without any order or plan. In combination with this unprofitable reform of the intellectual part of education, the attempt was made to supplant the cane, — till then, and, in many parts, even till now, the great lever of moral discipline. — by a sort of sen- timental moral-preaching, likewise in the form of childish stories, properly interlined with ingenious questions and answers. The looseness of knowledge, and laxity of moral feeling, produced by these new systems on one hand, and, on the other, the pedantry of the old mode of tuition, and the despotic sway of its barbarous discipline, gave rise to an opposition, equally directed against both. In the last popular excitement of Germany, occasioned by the war against Napoleon, when many a dream of immature reform was dreamed, the idea of educating the youth of the country, somewhat upon the system of Lycurgus and Plato, independently of all parental interference, under the authority, and for the purposes of the state, was abortively broached by those who, hoping to see a new era in the political state of their country, were anxious to secure durability to the vainly anticipated forms of civil liberty, by training up a sound and manly generation. The changes made in France at the same period, and from similar causes, as they consisted chiefly in a violent emancipation from superannuated superstition, and from ENGLAND. 19 the impostures of daring hypocrisy, partook, in their ori- gin, too much of the character of infidelity, to produce real benefit. The attempt to inspire the nation with en- thusiasm upon such a basis, could but degenerate into those deplorable excesses, which will for ever stain the close of the last century, and was of course not calculated to give a better impulse to education. Since the storm has been allayed, the prospect has, apparently at least, become clearer ; but it is to be feared, that the pretended improvements will not bear the test of closer examination. The turn which the tide of public instruction, in France, has taken since the restoration of peace in Europe, seems to indicate a decided predilection for the superficial glitter of an extensive empiric knowledge ; in the acquirement of which, the idol of human reason is not less profanely wor- shipped, than in the mad performances of revolutionary atheism ; Avhilst the heart is left cold and indifferent, a prey to false sentiment or degrading passion. And now, if we fix our looks lastly upon England, and ask, " What is the spirit of those changes which have been made in popular education within these last thirty or forty years ?'"■ — shall we arrive at a more favourable result .'' I fear not. Here also the wish for improvement has re- ceived a false direction, singularly analogous to the cha- racteristic bias of the nation. Whatever has of late been done in this country under the name of improvement in education, has invariably borne a manufacturing aspect. The question has not been — What must we do to give to every child the best possible education .? but — What are the best means of educating the greatest possible number of children with the smallest expense of capital and of human labour ? So that, without the slightest regard being paid to the nature of the treatment which the child's mind and heart receive, it has been considered as an unquestionable proof of a superior system, that one master should be enabled to drill a thousand children instead of a hundred, and that the movements of the mass should strike the eye c 2 20 ADVANCED CIVILIZATION OF ENGLAND. as more regular, and less interrupted by any expression of individual thought and feeling, than what had been'exhibited before under a less perfect system of machinery. This false tendency is the more deeply to be deplored, as Eng- land is, of all the countries of Europe, and perhaps of the world, that in which mistakes on matters of vital impor- tance are of the greatest consequence. The nations of the continent can, to use a common phrase, better afford to commit blunders, because in the slow march of their na- tional life evils do not spread so rapidly, and there is more time left for their observation and correction. Not so in this country. Whoever has impartially observed and compared the state of things here and abroad, must be aware of the immense difference in the degree of develop- ment which society has attained ; and I do not think this difference at all overrated in saying that England is from two to three centuries in advance in the march of civiliza- tion before the other countries of Europe. This supe- riority, whilst it is a subject for congratulation, is on the other hand also a cause for serious apprehension. The complication of all the relations of society, and the rapidity and superficiality of social intercourse, are a great draw- back upon social morality, for which no other compensa- tion can be found than a more strict, firm, and indepen- dent adherence to principle on the part of every single individual in the community. In countries in which civilization is in a less advanced state, there is a primitive- ness and a simplicity in all the ties of society which form a happy substitute for that higher moral development which is generally wanting. The contact which every in- dividual has with society is of such a nature as to render him, in the sphere in which he moves, perfectly well known, not only in his character, but also in his various concerns, and therefore dependant upon the moral suffrages which he may earn ; in this manner a sort of public morality is created, by which the individual, however weak in his own principles, is supported like a faint man in a crowd. Nay, THE CLAIMS OF SOCIETY. 21 the whole of society resembles a crowd of faint men up- holding each othei', because they stand too close to allow to each other room for falling. The progress of civiliza- tion, on the contrary, has the effect of enlarging the sphere of every individual, and rendering him more insulated and more independent ; and hence it is, that it has a ten- dency to weaken that mutual support which man gives to man in a primitive state of society. But it is not the pur- pose of God that man should remain leaning upon man ; he must learn to stand, independently of man, in the strength of the Lord ; and the gradual breaking down of that social morality is therefore to be hailed rather than deplored, provided civilization take such a turn as will tend to render the individuals strong in the Lord ; that is to say, provided society give to those whom it no longer upholds by the power of the mass, an essentially religious education. This brings me back to the question from which I was led to this review of the history of education, the question — What are the rights and duties of the family, and of society at large, respecting the education of chil- dren belonging to them .'' Is it not evident from the con- sequences which the neglect of education produces in the inevitable progress of civilization, that society must have a positive duty to give it to every individual born in its bosom ? This duty might indeed be inferred indisputably from the claim which society lays to the services of every such individual ; for — (to take no higher ground than is taken by all moral philosophers, and even by political eco- nomists) — ^it is generally admitted, that every right pro- duces a corresponding duty. Now, if society have, or pretend to have, a right to the services of every individual, it is clear that this right necessarily involves some duty ; and what can that duty more obviously be, than that society should give to its children such an education as will fit them for the services which it intends to exact from them in after life ? 22 THE DUTIES OF SOCIETY. The duty of the family, and especially of the parent, is, no doubt, more immediate ; and accordingly its fulfilment has in some measure been secured by an innate feeling, which, although weakened or misdirected in almost every instance, is yet exterminated, or entirely perverted, only where vulgar degradation has reached its lowest ebb, or fashionable corruption its highest tide. But whilst this feeling is so deeply engrafted in the human bosom, that there is hardly a parent to be found wholly indifferent to the fate of his child, the fulfilment of the duty which it involves presupposes such a variety of moral qualifica- tions, of intellectual acquirements, and even of outwardly favourable circumstances, on the part of the parents, that by far the greater number of them are not able to dis- charge their obligations in this respect, however strongly they may feel them. It devolves then upon society, as the claimant upon the future services of their children, to assist those parents who are willing themselves to lend a helping hand in the education of their children, and alto- gether to take the place of those who entirely neglect it, either from the straitness of their circumstances, or from moral torpor or dissipation. But if, what seems almost impossible after so simple and so conclusive an argument, any doubt should be left con- cerning the duty which society has to discharge towards the rising generation, — if there be any that do not wish to follow principles, without the evidence of facts, — ^let me appeal to the grievous facts which the present state of this country exhibits. Let any one take an attentive survey of the present condition of society ; let him carefully examine the motives and feelings by which the great mass of the population are guided in their transactions ; let him look at the overbearing influence of covetousness, and selfishness in every other garb, by which men are led away, at the expense of honest principles and generous sentiments; let him cast up the sum of dishonesty and immorality which is with impunity committed, because not amenable CONSEQUENCES OF NEGLECTING THEM. 23 to the law of the land ; let him add to this the sum of vices and crimes which escape the avenging arm of justice, daily and hourly stretched out upon the perpetrators ; and let him complete this sad account by the number of those who are every year doomed to more or less protracted wretchedness, or to an untimely death ; let any one, I say, cast his eye upon this disgusting and deplorable scene — let him, on one hand, trace to their origin those evils, by which the very vitals of society are infected, and observe, on the other, their rapid and progressive increase ; will he dare to deny, that it is the hand of God avenging upon society the neglect of its duties to the rising generations ? Of all the laws laid down by God for the government of the moral world, there is none that can be violated with impunity ; and in his justice and his wisdom he has so ordered it, that the more sacred the trust, the more terrible will be the vengeance upon those that dis- regard it. But where, it may be asked, is the proof that society does neglect its duties to the rising generation ? Are not our ears daily filled with the praise of this happy and enlightened age, on account of its extensive exertions in the cause of education ? I will not now be fastidious, and find fault with this or that system ; I will, for a moment, suppose all education that is given, to have a truly good and moral tendency ; and will merely ask, what proportion of the children of this country receive any education what- ever ? The number of children of the poorer classes in England (for of the other two kingdoms we have not even sufficient data to form an estimate) amounts, accord- ing to the latest calculation, to about two millions, not in eluding those under five, nor those above twelve years of age. Of this number, there are one million attending at day schools of different descriptions ; the Sabbath schools belonging to the Establishment count about half a million of scholars ; and those conducted by different dissenting denominations contain an equal number. At the same time. 24 FACTS PllOVING THE NEGLECT. it is to be observed, that more than one half of the children attending on Sabbath schools, do also frequent day schools, so that they appear twice in the above statement. From these data it follows, that of the children of the poor in England there is but one fourth that receive instruction both during the week and on the Sabbath ; one fourth who are under tuition on week days, but not on the Sabbath ; one fourth, who, attending upon Sabbath schools only, are left without instruction during the whole week ; and one fourth who receive no education whatever, either in the week or on the Sabbath. It need not be added, that the parents who neglect to bring their children into contact with any of the public means of education, are not likely to supply that deficiency themselves, so that the inference is incontestable that the whole of the last named five hundred thousand children are growing up in the abodes of utter physical and moral destitution, and, worse than that, in the haunts of vice and criminality. Is it credible that a community calling itself a Christian community, nay, one that lays claim to the Christian cha- racter jjar excellence, should allow half a million of human beings to grow up, year after year, in its bosom, without any means being adopted to bring them to a consciousness of their state, and of their destination, and to a knowledge of the means which God has appointed for them, and the duties which he has imposed upon them, with a view to lead them to the attainment of the purpose of their lives ? And is it to be supposed that so fearful a neglect of the most sacred duty will pass by unpunished ? Or shall we doubt a moment, that the overwhelming flood of immorality, vice, and crime, which is setting in upon the framework of soci- ety, is the vengeance of God upon a nation, which, in the amply folded garb of profession, commits the most profane desecration of his holy purpose, in the dereliction of thou- sands and thousands of those little ones, whom He has com- manded us to receive in his name ? 25 LECTURE 11. CONTINUATION OF THE SAME SUBJECT. I HAVE, in the last lecture, attempted to shew, on the ground of history, in what light the relative duties of the family, and of society at large, concerning the education of their children, have been viewed at different times, and by different nations ; and I have likewise endeavoured to prove, on the mere ground of social principles, and of the self- interest of the community, that the latter has a decided duty to assist and even to substitute parents in the dis- charge of the trust which is laid upon them, to bring up their children in a manner conducive to their own welfare and to that of the whole community. But, as I observed at the commencement of this subject, there is another ground on which it may be considered, besides that of mere human policy. Our question, to be satisfactorily answered, must be viewed in the light of religion ; we must ask — " What are the rights and duties of a Christian family., and of a Christian community, respecting the education of those children which God has confided to their care .?'" It is impossible for us entirely to separate our views on education from those religious considerations which, in a Christian country, more or less influence every department of life, and accordingly this string has been occasionally 26 CHRISTIAN VIEW OF THE SUBJECT. touched upon already in the first lecture. But there is a vast difference between a religious bias of our views on edu- cation, given, as it were, by a sidewind, from an inevitable association in our thoughts and feelings, and a view of edu- cation essentially founded upon the principles of religion. The former must, in a measure, cleave to the theories and practice of every one that has been brought up in a land which is under the influence of revelation, so much so, that I question whether even an infidel, however violently strug- gling against all that savours of religion, can entirely rid himself, in his system of education, of those associations and impressions, which he has imbibed in early life, and which are daily recalled to his mind and feelings by a thousand surrounding influences. On the other hand, education, essentially founded upon the principles of religion, re- quires so spiritual and vital an apprehension, not of the words and doctrines, but of the power and life of religion, that its theory and its practice are but rarely to be met with even among the religious, and most rarely of all, I fear, among those who most pride themselves in doctrinal superiority. It would be unjust and presumptuous to deny that approaches — very near ones, perhaps, in some instances — ^have now and then been made to what might be called the ideal of Christian education ; but it is certain, that the most popular systems fall far short of this pattern ; nay, I would say more ; it appears to me that we are only now on the eve of that period of Christian development, at which it will be possible to make the application of the principles of Christianity to general education. One of the reasons I have to form this opinion, is the confusion of terms and ideas which pervades the different sects and parties on that subject, which to me indicates the approach of a clearer and more enlightened epoch ; for in the march of human civilization, as well as in the course of nature, every purest sky is preceded by a night of storm, and every brightest sunbeam by the gathering of clouds. Taking this view of the subject, I am well aware that MODERN IMPROVEMENTS. 2^ I shall be obliged to venture on disputed ground, and I therefore request of you to divest yourselves for a moment of those preconceived notions, which, if allowed to influ- ence your judgment on the present occasion, would clog the freedom of inquiry, and to follow me with no other guide than the highest standard of faith, the internal con- viction of truth and error. It is an observation which strikes me, as being applica- ble to almost every department of human knowledge at this time, that with a jealousy against the views which our forefathers entertained, and with a zeal, in many in^ stances extravagant, to correct the real or supposed errors of their systems, our age combines a remarkably servile adherence to the premises from which those views and systems were merely the conclusions. Hence we have in our days a great deal of mending and patching in the details of every branch of knowledge, whilst a number of false premises remain unshaken, and mocking, as it were^ the childish endeavours of the investigating and criti- cising multitude, continue to produce as many false posi- tions, as are successively struck off the list of our articles of belief. This unsuspecting method of our modem philosophers, has the effect of causing the minds of their contemporaries to be tossed about on the boundless ocean of error, on which he, who disappointed in one direction, contents himself, without any positive guide, to steer in an opposite one, may for ever cruise about, without disco- vering the shore of truth. Too much reliance has been placed upon that negative spirit of inquiry, which under the semblance of truth beguiles mankind into errors more incurable, because they are accompanied with a self-com- placent feeling of superiority to others, and of victory over prejudice and narrow-mindedness. To adduce one instance for the sake of illustration : — There has been a system of instruction prevailing for many years past, which consisted in nothing but dictatorial inculcation of the notions of the teacher into the pupils' mind, without 28 ASSUMED UIGHTS OF SOCIETY. any regard to their powers of inquiring and judging for themselves. This gross mistake has at length been found out, and, as it is supposed, corrected by a party which of all others, prides itself in the enlightened cha- racter of its measures; and what did the improvement consist in ? The reasoning powers were now appealed to, exclusively, and on every subject ; every other ground of conviction was thrown overboard as useless ballast, and the too much lightened vessel now floats over the restless waves of public opinion, an easy game to every wanton wind of doctrine. The mere discovery that this also is a mistake, is, again, not a sufficient ground to go upon in search of the proper mode of proceeding ; from that point the way is open to an indefinite number of other mistakes ; and there is no end to these wild wanderings of the mind, until we come to explore first principles, and, purifying them from all that is human alloy, take, for our sole guide and standard, the pure light of divine truth. If we apply these remarks to the question now under consideration, we shall find that, whilst a variety of systems have at different times been built upon the sup- position, that the family and society have certain rights to the children born in their bosom, there has never been so much as an attempt to found the whole system of edu- cation upon the sole basis of the duties which they have to discharge, without assuming any rights, but such as must necessarily be granted to render the fulfilment of those duties possible. In this, as in every other respect, we have founded our theory and practice upon the pre- mises, that there are certain inalienable and incontestable rights, from which the whole constitution of society, and all our social duties are derived — but never has the question been asked: What is the foundation of those rights ; where is the evidence that they are rights, esta- blished by the law of God, and not rights of our own assuming .f* So far, however, from our duties being de- rived from our rights, the latter are, on the contrary. ALL RIGHTS DERIVED FROM DUTIES. 29 entirely founded upon the former. No man, nor any other creature whatever, has or can have any right to the possession or enjoyment of any thing, but in as far as it is requisite for the fulfilment of his duties. God gives nothing without purpose, and consequently the creature cannot have a right to anything except it be in reference to that purpose ; and as the purpose of God is the crea- ture's duty, it is obvious that whatever rights the crea- ture may possess, they are all immediately derived from his duty. If this then be true, and if it be true, moreover, that man is a fallen creature, and that his restoration is God's purpose with him, is it not evidently the duty of the family and of society, to assist every individual from the first moment of his existence by every means in their power, in the attainment of that purpose ? and is it not evident, likewise, that neither the family nor the society can have a right to lay any claims to, or assume any authority over the child, but such as is indispensably ne- cessary for the discharge of that duty ? What an immense change does the acknowledgment of this truth produce in the whole aspect of our question ! and how incalculable are the practical conclusions, to which these premises, if once sincerely admitted, will lead us, in opposition to by far the largest proportion of the rules and maxims now generally followed in the business of education ! For at present not only the greatest, but also the most effi- cient part of education is given on the assumption, that we have a claim to the future exertions of the indivi- duals whom we train up, and with a view to secure to ourselves the greatest possible quantum of exertion at the smallest expense. This is not only the case with reference to that part of tuition, in public and private schools, which is commonly and not improperly, designated by the appellation " worldly knowledge," but even the cause of religious instruction is not unfrequently pleaded on this ground, vifs. that it is the best interest of society 30 FALSE VIEW OF EDUCATION. that its members should be encouraged to industrious habits and good conduct by the influence of religious im- pressions. Manifold are the evil consequences which arise from this primitive mistake in the view we generally take of education. We ourselves, approaching the field of labour in a wrong and false spirit, can neither apply the right means, nor even benefit by the experience we gain ; for being blind to the real cause of our ill success, and of our repeated disappointments, we endeavour to account for them in some other way, and thereby necessarily fall into confusion and injustice. As regards the children, they cannot but perceive that there is something arbitrary and oppressive in our conduct, which, although they are not able to explain it, yet their feelings are acute enough to apprize them of, and which induces them in most instances unconsciously, but not on that account less perseveringly or efiiciently, to oppose, and, if possible, to baffle our efforts. Lastly, if we ask what expectations we can, under such cir- cumstances, entertain of the blessing of God attending our exertions, is it not plain that, — ^however much we may aff*ect to talk of its visible efiects, when we pompously assemble to glorify less him than ourselves in the report of what we have done, — there can be no reasonable antici- pation of the divine assistance in the pursuit of labours, which have for their object the attainment, not of his, but of our own purpose.'' Thus it happens that education, which was intended by God as a blessing to both parents and children, is considered, because felt by both as an intolerable burden, of which both long to get rid as soon as possible, and to which both submit only because they cannot help it. Is it not lamentable that man should thus in his folly and selfishness turn that which God has ap- pointed for him as a source of improvement and of happi- ness, into an instrument of degradation and misery, and render a curse to himself that which divine wisdom and mercy had destined to be one of the greatest blessings ? ERROR IK DIVINITY. 31 This unfortunate perversion of the relative position of parent and child, of teacher and pupil, is connected with a sad mistake in our systems of divinity, which seems to me to be of too great importance not to be mentioned on the present occasion : I mean the construction generally put upon that decree which the Almighty pronounced over man after the fall. By an assumption as gratuitous as any I ever met with, the whole of the laws laid down for human existence in its degraded state, in the latter part of the third chapter of Genesis, is considered as a venting of the di- vine wrath upon disobedient man, and commonly goes by the name of " the curse;'' whereas it appears to me that it is one great and wonderful chain of mercies, — in fact, the compre- hension of all the good gifts, which man was capable of receiv- ing, in the condition into which he had brought himself, by withdrawing his soul from the rule of his bountiful Maker. It is not sufficiently considered that man had inflicted upon himself the sum and substance of all evil, which is, to be separated from God, and in a state of rebellion against him ; and that the purpose of the divine arrangements after that unfortunate event, was not to aggravate that evil, but to mitigate it, and to open to man a way, by which he might gradually return to that state, for which he was origi- nally destined. Man''s preclusion from the enjoyment of the tree of life has manifestly that intention, as a continued pos- session of power, without an holy will to correct it, would only have involved man in deeper destruction. The same is to be said of the laborious life to which man is doomed : for although the expression is used, " cursed is the ground for thy sake," there is no reason why this should mean, " cursed is the ground that thou may est be cursed indi- rectly ;"" but it may just as well be interpreted, " cursed is the ground for thy benefit.""* And this is in fact the case. * The erroneous interpretation alluded to has been supported by the etymo- logy of the word "1^355 ^^ ^^^ original, said to be derived firom "l?^, which, in one of its manifold acceptations, means ''to pass over,^* whence "1!135=^> by transition. The ground is cursed for thy sake, i. e. by transition of the 32 INSTITUTION OF THE PARENTAL STATE. For by the necessitous condition to which man was ex- posed, and in which he was brought into contact with outward nature, he had the opportunity afforded, nay, the necessity imposed upon him, of becoming conversant again with the laws of his Maker, against which he had rebelled. He had had access to them in their highest perfection and fulness, inasmuch as he was admitted to the divine presence, but having rejected them, he was incapacitated for ap- proaching them in any other manner than as they are dis- played at the very lowest stage in earthly existence. But what most immediately refers to our present subject, is what is most profanely called ' the curse upon woman,' viz. — the establishment of that sacred relationship between parent and child, which was the principal of the means of restoration appointed by God at that period. To this relationship no allusion whatever is made previously to the fall, and it is, therefore, highly j probable that it was not intended in the primitive state of man ; at least, it cannot, without a most gratuitous assumption, be asserted that it was. The supposition that it was not intended, is not only more conformable to the scriptural account, but it receives an additional weight from the fact, that the estab- lishment of that relationship has a definite object, which could not possibly exist before the fall, but which was, most immediately and indispensably, required subse- quently to that event. After the fall, man was in a state, in which the know- ledge of himself was of all things the most necessary to him, and at the same time that which he would most anxiously avoid. His nature was vitiated, and the first step to its curse from thee upon the ground. This specious support of a profane view of one of the most important parts of Scripture falls, however, soon to the ground, if we compare the use of the word "1^2372 in other passages. We shall then find that both as a preposition and as a conjunction, it conveys the idea, with a view to, with the purpose, by reason of, on account of. So, for instance, in Gen. xxvii. 4 ; 2 Sam. x. 3, and in 1 Sam. xii. 22, in which latter passage the context, " The Lord will not forsake his people for his great name^s sake," altogether precludes the idea of transition. ITS MERCIFUL PURPOSE. 33 restoration was the knowledge of its vitiated condition. Where then should he acquire this knowledge? — In whom should he observe the baneful effects of his rebellion ? In himself? — But self-love, the very root of his sin, would for ever prevent him from taking of his own nature that impartial view, which would have rendered him hate- ful to himself. Or was he to study the vitiated nature of man in his fellow-creatures, in his equals ? But the same cause which deterred him from self-examination, would render him blind likewise to the faults of his fellow-crea- ture, as long as their effects did not encroach upon his own wishes and desires. As soon, on the contrary, as he would feel himself wounded by them, his eyes would be opened ; yet, acute as his sight might henceforth be in dis- covering them, he would not be able to make correct obser- vations, from the excitement of his passions, of his feelings of wrath and vengeance, which would inevitably be called forth on those occasions. Thus, then, we see, that, neither from the observation of himself, nor from that of his equals, man could come to that knowledge of his nature which was the first and indispensable condition of his being ever rescued from his vitiated condition. To exhibit that nature and that condition before his eyes in a being different from himself, and at the same time in a manner which would not arouse his hostility, and thus to enable him to take of it a view at once impartial and unimpas- sioned, — this was the great object for which the relation between parent and child was established. In his own offspring, as it were the miniature likeness of himself, he was able to perceive the same seeds of moral corruption, by which his own nature was infected; and while, on one hand, his observation was as much as possible freed from the bias of self-love, he was, on the other hand, induced, by the interest which an innate feeling of his heart taught him to take in the condition of so helpless a being, alto- gether thrust upon his mercy, to meditate on the causes of its wretchedness and of its perversity, and to penetrate more and 34 OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN. more deeply into the mysteries of its state, till at length he discovered, to his astonishment, that in the nature of his child, he had read the deeply hidden and carefully dis- guised secrets of his own breast. Moreover, his endea- vours to counteract, in the child, the growth and the mani- festation of the evils which he observed in him, as they required the exercise of a nobler and holier power than his own vitiated nature was possessed of, subjected him, in his agency upon the child, unconsciously to the internal operations of that divine life and power, the rule and guidance of which he had rejected for himself; and, at the same time, the position in which he found himself thus, with reference to his child, as law-giver, chastiser, instructor, and corrector, was the most admirable practi- cal illustration of the new dispensation, under which he himself was placed by God. Conformably to this, we find that, in his perfect manifestation of himself through Jesus Christ, God chose the relationship, primitively ordained by him with a view to man's restoration, as an image, under which to represent his own relation to the Saviour, and, through his mediation, to the whole human kind. If this be the view which we take of that important sub- ject, and I do not see how we can, consistently, either with the account of Genesis, or with the whole tenor of Scrip- ture, take any other, in what a different light does educa- tion appear ! Where is now the curse — where the burden.'' It is an untenable ground of argument against this posi- tion to say, that education has actually been felt by man as a curse, and as a burden. Be it so ; although I should be inclined to think, that there may be some exceptions to this general state of feeling. Yet supposing, for argu- ment's sake, it were felt by every parent and every teacher, as a curse, and as a burden only, what would this prove but that man has contrived, in this instance, as in so many others, to turn into a curse that, which God intended for a blessing. There is not one of the good gifts which come from above, that has not been, in some way or other EDUCATION MADE A CURSE. 35 more or less extensively, turned, by the perverse spirit of man, into a source of misery and suffering, and into an occasion of sin to himself. But all this, I repeat it, can only prove the perversity of man, and leaves the original pur- pose of God unchanged, as in itself, so for every one that chooses to receive the gift, in the spirit in which it was given. So in education : whilst it is but too certain that by far the majority of parents feel it as a curse and as a burden, every one is free to convert it into the greatest blessing to himself and others, by handling it in a right spirit. If the oversight of God's purpose in it have been productive of much evil, as I shall be able to prove to you that it has, we have on the other hand the comfort of knowing, that it may become also a source of much good. Let us for a moment compare the position of a parent or teacher, who considers it in the former light, with the con- dition of one, who takes the latter view of it, and we shall soon find practical confirmation of the correctness of our principle. As regards himself, the parent or teacher who considers education as a curse and as a burden, deprives himself of one of the richest and purest sources of information con- cerning his own character. Wherever his feelings are at variance with those of the child, he takes for granted that the fault must be with the child ; acting up to tliis his persuasion, he increases the causes of discrepancy of feel- ing, and, by a consequence morally inseparable from such conduct, hardens himself in his own blindness. What might have been for him an ample means of self-improve- ment, thus becomes a source of constant irritation and annoyance, which both, deteriorate his moral state, and obscure his apprehension of truth and of the nature of things. The injury which he inflicts upon himself is, however, but half the mischief he does. If he choose to make education a curse and a burthen to himself, that is his own business ; but where is his commission to render it so to the child, who has no remedy against this perver- D 2 36 HOW TO BE MADE A BLESSING. sion of the divine purpose? There is in the child an innate feeling, bearing witness of that purpose, and appriz- ing the child that it is destined to imbibe and to diffuse happiness and joy. Hence the loving and inexpressibly endearing smile, with which the unconscious infant greets those to whose care it is committed, a sacred trust : hence that unsuspecting confidence, that unrestrained openness of feeling, with which children are generally inclined to aban- don themselves to the guidance of those, with whom they associate their earliest impressions, and the mysterious and attractive reminiscences of dawning self-consciousness. All these pure and tender outlines of a divine influence and impulse, which might, by the delicate touch of an educa- tion conducted in a Christian spirit, be perfected into the full image and stature of faith, are however distorted or obliterated by the coarse hand of a despotic, presumptuous, unfeeling, and regardless tuition ! Alas ! that ever a pa- rent's eye should be so blind to those heavenly beams of love, whose purple streaks are shed over the nursling's countenance, indicating the approaching rise, within its soul, of the sun of everlasting life ; that ever a parent's hand should be so unhallowed, as to thrust back into the dark- ness of wrath, the being that was born to see the light of love ! How different would be the fruits of our education, if we had humility, wisdom, and love enough to acknowledge and to kindle that spark of life in the child ! — if we knew how to establish a holy sympathy between the child and ourselves, and upon the ground of this sympathy, to make education a course of mutual improvement ! How differently must a child feel in the hands of a parent, or teacher, who is guarded in his mode of proceeding by a severe watchful- ness, not over the cliild only, but likewise over himself, by a careful attention to the motives from which he acts, as well as the effects which he produces, and by a conscious- ness that God has appointed him to the important duty of educating his child, with a view to give him an opportunity DUTIES OF THE FAMILY. 37 of exploring the nature of man, his actual, as well as his true condition, the causes by which he fell into the former, and the means by which he may be restored to the latter ! With what confidence and willingness of mind would chil- dren generally submit to a treatment, over which they felt, that justice and love presided ! And how much, on the other hand, would parents and teachers themselves be bene- fited by that scrupulous attention to their own conduct, that constant scrutiny of their own principles and feelings, and that diligent study of moral causes and effects, which such a course of education required ! Let any one try the experiment, and persevere in it long enough to see the fruits of it, and I am sure that he will bear testimony to the truth of my assertion, that education, howsoever it may be felt by the great mass of those who engage in it, either from necessity, or by the way of trade, was never intended by God otherwise than as a blessing ; and that there are few relationships in human society, which, when approached in a right spirit, will have a more sanctifying influence, and be productive of more pure and unmingled delight. If, then, with this view of our subject, we ask again, " What are the rights and duties of the family, and of society at large, respecting the education of children be- longing to them.-^"" — it is evident, from the very nature of that duty, and its first appointment by the divine decree, that it devolves more immediately upon the family. It is to the mother's love, to the father's exertions, that the child is to look for the satisfaction of all the wants, which its complicated nature involves, in so helpless a condition. But although the duty of the family be more direct, that of society is not less urgent ; it is more remote, but far more comprehensive, and, as regards the responsibility of the trust, perfectly equal to the other. It is upon father and mother that the child prefers his Jirst claim to assistance for the attainment of the aim of his life ; but if, from some reason or other, that claim be not 38 WHO ARE THE FATHERLESS. satisfied by the parents, the child prefers his ultimate claim upon society, and woe unto the nation that turns a deaf ear upon it, in whom the fatherless findeth no mercy ! Fatherless I call not only that child, whom death has deprived of his parents, but that child, also, whose father and mother are, by the oppression of penury, and by the covetous spirit of society, which extorts and exacts from the industrious poor even the uttermost farthing, rendered virtually dead to every other duty, but that of toiling for a scanty subsistence; and still more that child, whose parents are, by the demonlike pride of high life, or the brutal degradation of low life, spiritually dead, exhaling a pestiferous atmosphere, pregnant with the most deadly poison to the souls of men. Here it is, where the duty of society comes in, to take the place of the parent, who is incapacitated for the discharge of his trust by his circum- stances, or by his own moral condition. It is discharging but a small part of that obligation, to establish orphan homes for those children, who are fatherless by the natural death of their parents ; such asylums are much more urgently and extensively wanted for those, who are in a state of artificial, or of moral orphanage. Is it to be credited, that a nation who is so fully apprized, how much more precious the life of the soul is than that of the body, should have made provision, in some instances abundant and splendid provision, for those children who are in danger of bodily death, and remain utterly indiiferent to the condition of thousands of children, who are daily exposed to, or actually suff'ering, the death of the soul .'' Is it to be credited ^ or, rather, I should say, is such a national neglect of education to be wondered at, when we see that, even in those families, which profess to acknow- ledge their duty in this respect, and boast of eminent wisdom and care in its fulfilment, a degree of indifference is practically evinced, which sufficiently proves that, to their feelings, education is still a burden ? I appeal to your own observation : what is the lot of children generally • SELFISHNESS OF PARENTS. 39 in those families, which combine with the ease and comforts of affluent circumstances, a tone of order and morality which has gained them the appellation of " well-regulated," and, in most instances, also, a religious character. From their earliest infancy they are subjected to an unnatural separation from those, to whose eyes and lips they were intended to cleave, there to imbibe the first moral im- pressions ; they are, in deference to the claims of vanity, habitually excluded from the apartment in which their parents dwell, and, in fact, from the whole house, with the exception of that one room, generally not the best, nor the most healthy, which is set apart for them. In five cases, out of ten, they are kept in this exile during the greater part of the day, and admitted to the presence of their parents only on some emergencies ; and these are invariably just those moments in which their absence would be most desirable. The father, whom, during dinner, the sight of his children would disgust, or their noise annoy, wishes, after the cloth is removed, to relieve the dulness of a soli- tary bottle by a little fun with them ; they are accord- ingly sent for, and treated with some of the dessert- sweetmeats, that the moral ground of affection may be effectually destroyed, and the child linked to his parent by the more powerful charm of sensual appetite ; or, there is some visitor, who asks for the " sweet darlings," not from any interest in the children, whom she would rather not be troubled with, but from an anxiety to gratify the sense- less vanity of the mother ; then the nursery bell is rung, and the poor victims of fashion are introduced for a moment, to make their parade by a stiff courtesy, an answer put into their mouths, or a thoughtless repetition of some silly nursery rhymes, learned by rote, amidst floods of tears. After this performance, and some flat compli- ments paid to their petty accomplishments and their pretty faces, they are dismissed from a scene which could be acted, without omitting any of the material incidents, and with far greater propriety, if the lady of the house were to 40 CHILDREN LEFT TO SERVANTS. exhibit, instead of Master Henry and Miss Harriet, her Puggy or her Polly. This unnatural separation between parent and child, from which the selfish feelings of the parents only procure occasional relief, is, however, by no means the most disgraceful proof of the indifference, in which the class of society alluded to, remain to the claims of one of their most important duties. The character of ^those, to whom they abandon their children during the greater part of the day, testifies still more strongly of that inhuman and ungodly spirit, by which, in the midst of professions of philanthropy and christian charity, the affairs of daily life are regulated. I am at a loss to know, which of the two deserves the severer censure, the tone in which servants are treated, and the state of degradation to which they are reduced ; or the fact, that to the influence of such despised and such degraded ser- vants, the tender souls of children are exposed. These two profanations of the sanctuary of domestic life, seem to be of one piece. I have observed, at least, that wherever ser- vants are treated with that kindness and attention to their well-being, which is due to them as out fellow-creatures, there the children of the family are, although not excluded from their presence, yet never wholly given up to them ; and, on the other hand, that the extent of separation which takes place between parents and children, bears an exact proportion to the degree of haughtiness in the tone of the master and mistress, and of submissive brutality in the servants. Under all circumstances, I should object to children's being left to servants, not because they are of an inferior rank, or because they are hirelings, — distinctions of this kind cannot too late be introduced in education, — but simply, because the parents are more naturally their nurses and their keepers ; because they have a more immediate calling to take care of them ; because an innate feeling of duty dwells in their bosoms ; because a far greater weight of responsibility lies upon them ; and be- cause they have stronger inducements, as well as ampler DOMESTIC SLAVERY. 41 means, to enlighten their minds on the subject. If, then, even with servants of a morally unexceptionable character, the transfer of the parent's duty upon them is liable to objection, how much more must it be so, with a debased and corrupted race of servants ? And in no country, I apprehend, is there a more debased and more corrupted race to be found, than in this, — owing to the hauteur with which they are treated, and from which other fruits cannot be expected. It is not natural that a human being should consent to be treated as if he belonged to a different species, to be used as a machine for a variety of purposes, without being ever regarded otherwise, than as that machine ; seen, and yet not perceived ; spoken to, and yet not noticed ; to be condemned to stand, earless, eyeless, motionless, and speechless, until the look or word of command restore to him the use of his senses and limbs for a specific purpose ; to be considered and dealt with, in the parlour, as a piece of furniture, or in the kitchen, as a utensil, and to be attended to in his wants and wishes, or cultivated in his affections, no more, if not less, than the dog or the horse, upon whom it is his duty to wait, in the master's name : — I say it is not natural that a human being; should consent to endure all this degradation, at the hand of his fellow-creature, without a compensation which, in his estimate, makes up for the loss of what no man should ever be tempted to part with, his human capacity. And what can that compensation be ? It cannot, in the very nature of things, be a moral one : for the last remnant of taste for any mental or moral gratification, would render the condition, by the endurance of which it is supposed to be purchased, perfectly insufferable. The compensation for the conditional setting aside of the fact, that the servant has an immortal soul as well as his master, and is his fellow creature in every respect, can only be one which is calculated to make the victim of human pride and vanity, really forget that, which he is under the obligation of affecting not to know ; it can only be the high wages of Mammon, and the sensual enjoyments which can be bought 42 DOMESTIC SLAVERY. with them, and which too often the master's sensuality presents in a more alluring light. Are we then to wonder that our servants are covetous and vicious, when we have taken care to exclude from their bosoms every nobler feel- ing, which might be a safeguard to them against the snares of evil ; and if, by way of reconciling them to such degrada- tion, we hold out direct temptations to covetousness and to vice ? The feelings of humanity and religion have, after a long slumber of dulness, been aroused to an unequivocal condemnation of negro slavery, which is a thraldom of the body more than of the soul ; but it may well be questioned, whether negro slavery is in itself worse, and it must at all events be admitted, that it is far more consistent, than that slavery, which I have been describing, which, under the forms of freedom, demoralizes the soul, robs it of all liberty and of all dignity, and, by the bait of licentious self-indul- gence, entices man to descend, of his own accord, below the level of the brute. That such a relationship should be endured by beings bearing the features of human nature, that it should be inflicted by men calling themselves Christians, is a disgrace to the land in which fashion has sanctioned the abuse ; it is a matter, both of astonishment and of grief, to a mind untainted by the contagion of that fashion. But that to beings so artfully degraded and corrupted, to beings held in such alienation and contempt, parents should entrust their offspring, the tender objects of unremitting love and anxiety, is an abomination, which the sight of the fact only can make credible to the uninitiated in the mysteries of human perversity, and to which nothing, but utter thought- lessness and moral indolence, can ever reconcile the minds and hearts of those, who commit so glaring a violation of their responsible position, as the instruments appointed by Providence, to convey to the child the blessings of time and eternity. Can a stronger proof be given of the low estimation in which parents hold their children, than that they put them under the control and care of those, upon NATIONAL SPREAD OF THE EVIL. 43 whom they never cast any other looks but those of pride and contempt, and with whom they never exchange a word except in the tone of command or of anger ? — that they render not only the present existence, but likewise the future welfare of their offspring, dependant on the in- fluence of those whom they scorn to recognise as their fellow-creatures ? If these evils were confined to the higher ranks of so- ciety, they might be passed over without much notice, as inevitable consequences of that vanity and folly, of which the great of this world hardly ever divest themselves ; but when we see them rapidly spreading among the middling classes, they assume a far more alarming aspect. They then become, in the full sense of the word, national evils, inasmuch as they infect the vitals of society, from which the life of the whole social body takes its origin, and which, if in a healthy state, always tends to correct the diseases, under which the upper and lower extremities may labour. This salutary reaction from the middling classes upon the higher and lower ranks, can no longer be ex- pected, if we see them giving way to the same evils, by which the others are overwhelmed. If we see that in the middling classes the interest in pecuniary pursuits, as fully absorbs the attention of parents, as the inexorable necessity of a hard-earned livelihood does among the poor, or that the selfish pride of fashion renders their children an en- cumbrance, of which they rid themselves, by consigning the charge of them to the hands of domestic slaves, — as is the case among the rich, — how then shall we any longer hope, that, by the better education of the middling classes, the higher ranks will be restrained in the indulgence of their follies, and forced, by the fear of sinking lower in the balance of society, to exert themselves for their own im- provement .''—or what reason have we to expect, that those who refrain their hands from the duty of educating their children, will stretch them forth in charity, to provide for the education of the poor ? To whom, then, shall a man 44 THE CAUSE OF EDUCATION HOPELESS. direct his voice, when pleading the cause of the infant forlorn and forgotten, in the midst of a community in which the boast of improvement, of charity, of Christian exertion, re-echoes from meeting to meeting, and from street- corner to street-corner, suffocating, in the clamour of self- approbation, the feeble cries of the helpless, whose very condition is a witness against the Pharisaical hypocrisy of this generation ? And yet, hopeless as the cause appears to be, it must not be given up. Neither must we allow our hands to sink down in idleness, nor must we lean upon the broken reeds of half- way improvements. A remedy is required, — I care not how limited the extent of its application, pro- vided it go to the whole root of the evil, and provided it be founded upon the root and source of all good. The introduction of such a remedy lies with those individuals, who have arrived at abetter conviction on the subject ; for as long as society is constituted upon principles, as uncon- genial with Christianity, as those which are the ground- work of most of the existing institutions, no reform can be anticipated to originate with society as a body, however ample the outward means may be, which it has at com- mand. For I do think it an inadmissible plea, that there are not funds sufficient to provide for the education of every child born in the land. Not to mention the nume- rous charitable foundations, the notorious misapplication of many of which, has become the subject of parliamentary inquiry ; there is the enormous sum of seven millions and a half levied each year, in England alone, under the head of poor rates, of which by far the greater proportion goes towards the support of such paupers, as are encumbered with children. But the question is, whether or not, the present mode of distributing parish relief be calculated to ensure to the children those temporal and moral advan- tages, which might be provided for them, at such an ex- pense ? That this question is unfortunately to be answered in the negative, must be agreed upon by all that are in the PECUNIARY MEANS. PAUPERISM. 45 least conversant with the present state of parochial admi- nistration, and with its demoralizing influence upon the poor. There is no reason, however, why the same expen- diture should not be applied in such a manner, as to make provision for the proper education of pauper children, and, at the same time, to attempt the improvement of the parents themselves, partly by interesting them in the arrangements made for their children, and partly by en- couraging them in industrious pursuits. But to produce this effect, parish relief ought to be proffered as a gift of Christian charity, with a careful attention and regard to the peculiar situation, and the consequent wants, of every individual that receives it, — instead of being, as it now is, tendered in a spirit of contempt, as a boon extorted from an unwilling hand, by the extreme of necessity ; in other words, the parish ought to go in search of their poor^ rather than paupers in quest of the parish. I am perfectly aware of the ridicule, to which this view of the subject lies open, on account of the singular contrast which it forms with the present state and tone of society. But I can easily bear the scornful sneer of the indifferent, as well as the complacent smile of over-prudent benevolence, — being well conscious, that the ridicule arises from the circum- stance, that the mode proposed is founded upon a truly Christian principle : whereas the present practice, with many more of a similar description, has for its basis a system of society essentially anti-christian. All I desire, is, that the subject may not be passed over with a smile ; but that, before dismissing it from your minds, you may give to yourselves a satisfactory answer to the question : which is more conformable to the Christian character, that spontaneous charity which seeks the distressed in their own abode, and gives to every one accordingly as he wants, without asking, — or that unwilling assistance, which is given, because extorted, in self-defence against the annoying intrusion of pauperism ? And if that question be settled, as it easily may be, then I would farther ask : whether the 46 POLICE. PRISONS. circumstance of a number of Christians being united toge- ther in a body, can at all diminish the duties, which indi- vidually devolve upon them, or whether, on the contrary, those duties are not more binding, in proportion as their strength is increased by their union ? But to return to our subject. The poor-rates are not the only head of public expenditure, which, if applied in a more judicious manner, might answer the purposes which it now does, and at the same time be made available for the discharge of that important duty, the neglect of which is rendering the state of society every day more embarrass- ing. What sums are not expended every year for police establishments, criminal prosecutions, prisons, houses of correction, and many more of those admirable institutions, of which we are so proud on the score of public justice, and of which, on the score of Christian love, we ought to be so deeply ashamed ? It is true, I grant, that we cannot dispense with them all at once, — that they are necessary evils. They are, however, evils, not only of urgent necessity, but also of increasing magni- tude. We are approaching, with rapid strides, to a state of things, in which the maintenance of what is called public security, will almost amount to an impossibility, whilst the resources of society will be inadequate to the supply of the means, which this useless eiFort will absorb. Some efficient measures must therefore be adopted for the prevention of those crimes and vices, which we now vainly endeavour to suppress, by retaliating evil upon them. Instead of institutions for the apprehending, sentencing, and executing those criminals, who are, after all, but the victims of the present system, we must form establishments, in which the children of the destitute, of the vicious, and of the criminal, may be educated to a contrary course of life, and to different circumstances. The means at present expended upon measures of public vengeance, by which the evil is only increased and multiplied, must, by degrees, be appropriated to measures of public charity, by which EVERY MAN MUST SUBSIST. 47 the rising generation will be preserved from growing up in such deep misery, ignorance, and corruption, as the present is involved in. And although this may require, in the first instance, perhaps a greater outlay, it will so amply repay itself in the end, that even on the mere ground of economy, such a course would recommend itself. For it is a great delusion to think, that society has the choice, whether or not, it will provide for all its members ; each individual that grows up in it, must find a livelihood somehow or other ; if he be not put in the way to earn it in a lawful manner, he will seek it by unlawful means ; if he be not taught to lead a sober life, he will lead a life of dis- sipation, but still he will live ; if society refuse to take notice of him, as an object of its care and protection, he will force it to notice him, as an object of its self-defence and its vengeance. Thus then it is clear, that society can neither avoid giving a livelihood, to whomsoever Prov-idence has chosen to place in its bosom ; nor can it help devoting some attention, and incurring some expense, for those whom the circumstances, in which they are placed by birth, render dependant on public assistance. Would it not, then, be infinitely wiser that society should give that attention, and incur that expense willingly, at a time when it has it in its power, to make them available for the proper education of the individual to an honest and sober life, and to a useful participation in the labours, which the maintenance of society requires, than, in the vain hope of evading that sacrifice, to leave the individual in a condition, in which he will infallibly become an enemy ? Would it not be wiser, at an early period, to attach him to society by the ties of gratitude, than to punish him, when it is too late, for an alienation, which was but the natural consequence of his destitution ? But if, as a mere question of policy, it cannot be denied that the present system is unwise in the extreme, what aspect will this subject assume, when we bring it to the test of Christian principles ? Christian, did I say ? 48 OUR LAWS ANTI-CHRISTIAN. Truly, I should feel satisfied, if, as a first step towards improvement, we could mould our criminal laws upon the much calumniated principles of the Jewish legislation. Short as they fall of that moral sublimity, which charac- terizes the Christian dispensation, they are infinitely superior to those inhuman and irreligious, those perfectly Pagan principles, upon which our present laws are founded, however much we may boast of our Christian state, and its Christian institutions. We use, or rather abuse, Christ's gospel, it is true, in a manner which savours more of super- stition than of religion, more of blasphemy than of reve- rence, as a check upon smugglers, as a guarantee for the correctness of custom-house transactions. As far as we can make the name of Christ a tool, for the better adminis- tration of Mammon, so far, it is true, we are Christians, but no farther! Open that book, the leather cover of which is, by force of the law, kissed millions of times for pecuniary and other temporal purposes, and read one of its chief commands, — that which was declared by our Saviour to be the second, and like unto the first : " Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself ;*" — read its practical explanation : " All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them ;" — and, taking the condition of a child, which is born in one of the haunts of vice and misery, in which every town in this kingdom abounds, ask yourselves : — Where is the man in this Chris- tian state, — from the highest that sitteth upon the throne, down to the lowest that beareth the staff' of his power — from the primate that weareth the mitre, and proclaimeth the law to the congregation, down to the meanest parish clerk, who thoughtlessly echoes, " Lord, incline our hearts to keep this law !" — where, I ask, is the man among them all, who, if he were, as by God's providence he might be, in the place of that child, would wish to be done unto, as that child is done unto, by virtue of our laws and insti- tutions ; who would not wish to be rescued from his dan- gerous situation, and brought under the care of Christian CASE OF A DESTITUTE CHILD. 49' benevolence, and under the influence of Christian educa- tion ; and yet where is the man to be found, that Avill do, or cause to be done, unto the child, that which he would clearly wish to be done unto him, if he Avere in its place ? What are the few paltry, and yet so much trumpeted exertions, which are now and then made for the supply of a partial and utterly inadequate remedy, when measured by this simple standard of our duty ? And yet happy would it be for us, if we had no other sins to answer for, than these sins of omission ! Let not our attention be diverted for the present by those palliatives, those substitutes of Christian education, on the efficacy of which we place too much reliance, and the merits of which, I hope, we shall have another opportunity of discussing. But let us keep in view, on one hand, what society, as a Christian institution, owes to every child, as one who has a claim to, as well as a capacity for, the re- ception of all the blessings of Christianity, and of Chris- tian civilization — as one who is born into this world for the express purpose of being made holy, and, through holi- ness, everlastingly happy ; and let us examine, on the other hand, what society does for those destitute children, who, having no visible advocate, able or willing to prefer their claims, are comprehended in that powerful appeal of our Lord to every one that professeth his name : " Whoso shall receive one such little child in my name, receivetli me." To form a correct estimate of the influence which such a child receives from society, we must, however, not merely cast a glance upon the more marked periods of his life, when his transgressions bring him under the arm . of human justice, but we must view the whole of his exist- ence from the beginning ; we must transfer ourselves into his circumstances, and follow the course of his life through its different stages. Let us, then, lose sight for a moment of all the advantages which we have enjoyed from our earliest infancy, and by which that state of feeling, and those habits of thinking, have been developed in us, which 50 CASE or A DESTITUTE CHILD. lead us, in many cases unconsciously, and frequently even without any moral exertion on our part, to fulfil the com- mon duties of life, and to maintain an upright character, at least in the worldly sense of the word ; let us fancy ourselves in the condition of a child, bom of vicious and criminal parents, in one of those lanes or alleys, in which the physical and the moral atmosphere are equally cor- rupt. What will be the lot of such a child ? The tender and unconscious look of the suckling is never met by an eye, from which it may drink the gladdening rays of love ; never does the soothing influence of parental tenderness calm its soul in the moment of irritation ; the brutal glare of sensual satiety is the loveliest object it ever beholds ; the irritations of its nature are many, in consequence of the neglect which it suffers, and which must inevitably be productive both of bodily disease and of mental indis- position, whilst every manifestation of those fretful feel- ings, which arise from a want of all that is wholesome to the body and to the soul, is repressed, or rather provoked at an increased rate, by rude severity or wild passion. As soon as he is able to use his limbs, he is cast off" by the unnatural mother, who hates his existence as an interrup- tion to the full indulgence of her vicious habits; and a new epoch of his life begins, during which he passes his time chiefly in the streets, with associates more advanced in age, and more deeply initiated in the mysteries of sin ; and the filth with which his body is covered, is but a faint analogy to the moral filth, which is thus gathering up in his soul, at that period of life when the mind and feelings of man are first expanding, to receive with consciousness the impressions of the surrounding world, and when, from the susceptibility of his whole being, the nature of those impressions is almost finally decisive, at least for this life, of his character and purs'uits. The parental influence during that period is almost entirely confined to daily brutality towards the child, which increases, in pro- portion as the child acquires more power to provoke and HIS FIRST CRIME. 51 to resist it ; and it is but a sad compensation for this habitual barbarity, that the child is occasionally dragged along by his parent to the public-house, and allowed to partake of that enervating and brutalizing dram, of which a Christian government encourages the extensive consump- tion, bartering away for two millions of revenue the health of a whole population, and the morality, not to say the salvation, of millions of souls. In tliis manner the child may grow up to the age of seven or eight years, without ever coming into immediate contact with, or falling under the direct notice of, any one else but the associates of his parents and their offspring ; and if it should so happen, that a parish or a police-officer penetrates into that world of misery and vice in which the child lives, for the purpose of a seizure, an ejection, or an apprehension, the effect which his appearance will produce upon the child's imagination, is not calculated to impress him with the better state of that other world, from which he is an emissary, or to awaken in his mind the idea or feeling of any thing more lovely, more benevolent, more holy. A ghastly fear of the delegates of some mysterious poAver, which is to all that know it, an object of hatred and terror, is the only trace that such an event can leave behind in the child's heart. But the time is fast approaching, when he will have an opportunity afforded him, by his own experience, of conceiving a more distinct notion of that power. He has now attained sufficient strength of body, and, as a practical consequence of his mode of education, a sufficient facility of disguise, and readiness for lying, to be trusted into the world. The time is come for him when he must earn his own bread, if he have not already been turned to account, by being let on hire to beggars, or sent out on begging errands himself. He is encouraged in his first pilfering expedition by his older associates, whose boldness, adroitness, and good luck, excite at once his admiration, his envy, and his emulation — or, perhaps, introduced in a less buoyant manner to a career, the close of which is so E 2 52 HIS FIRST EXPERIENCE OF HUMAN JUSTICE. mournful — he is stimulated by hunger, nakedness, and cold. But whatever the stimulants may be, it would require a prodigy of morality — such as his education can never produce— to resist, not a mere temptation, but a positive impulse to crime. The voice of his conscience is . silent on the occasion, for it has never been called into action, and is, by this time, driven back into the deepest recesses of his heart, and buried under a mass of selfish- ness, love of sin, and evil propensities of every kind, which have been nurtured up. Thus he commits the first act which enlists him, in the eyes of the world, among the bad characters. Now, let us suppose, that the happiest chance — at least what our moralists and legislators would call so — turns up for him ; he is caught up in the very act, and dragged before a police office. Imagine a child, brought up in the manner I have described, — and how many hun- dreds of children are trained up in exactly the same situ- ation—entering the office at Bow-street, or some other police office of the metropolis ; he is pushed to the bar through a crowd of persons of the lowest character, to whom the daily display of similar immorality is a feast for their souls. Here there is no expression of sorrow for the pollution of so young a mind, of sympathy for the misery which his appearance bears witness of, nor that look of soul-stirring indignation, which the idea of his transgres- sion might draw forth from the eye even of the benevolent, if forgetting for a moment the unhappy circumstances of the case. All that he meets with there, is the fiendlike merriment of the spectators, and the cold forms of the law, with which he is received by the magistrate, or his subal- terns. He is then examined ; witnesses come forward against him, in whose depositions, it may be, he recognizes as much treachery and falsehood as truth ; and he is ultimately committed for trial, or — which will be far less prejudicial to him, because it preserves him from the con- tamination of the prison — he is harangued by the magis- trate, and some slight chastisement ordered to be inflicted EFFECT WHICH IT HAS UPON HIS MIND. 53 on him. Now, suppose the magistrate to be the humanest person that ever sat on the bench, — suppose him to be moved by a real feeling of grief at the idea of such early delinquency, — what effect can his exhortation produce upon the young thief, to whom, probably, even on account of the unusual language, the whole is as unintelligible, as an argument on morality in Chinese might be to any of us ? All that he will gather from the transaction is, that the person on the bench is the one which commands over all the others in the place ; that he is displeased with what he has done ; and that he has the power of getting those whipped with whom he is displeased. But there is nothing in the most impressive exhortation which can be delivered on such an occasion, under the forms of law, from a magis- trate's bench, that is in any way calculated, to lead the boy to a conviction of the unlawfulness of his act, or that at all opens to him the prospect of a different career, with sufficient inducements to quit the one, to which habit has attached him, for one so new, and so replete with self- denials ; or holds out to him even the bare physical possi- bility of subsisting in a different one. The only practical inference, therefore, which a boy can draw from this trans- action, and the subsequent whipping, is, that it is a bad thing to be discovered in thieving, and that he must be more careful, in future, in the exercise of his calling. And that this is the inference, which most of the unfortunate children, placed under these circumstances, draw from their first; experience of the administration of public justice, is sufficiently proved by the sequel of their history, which is invariably to be met with in the records of criminality. But let us see the boy again at liberty, after the public authorities have performed upon him, what is deemed their duty. What change has been produced in his feelings ? His evil propensities have not been diminished ; it is well if they have not been increased by the addition of a feeling of revenge. Or, has any thing been done to enlighten him respecting his condition ? All he can have learnt is, that 54 CONTINUANCE OF HIS CAREER. he was not sufficiently cunning. Or, are his circumstances improved, temptations removed, or encouragements to good conduct held out ? No ; he returns exactly to the same position, in which distress, the command of his parents, — enforced by the same means which society uses for the demonstration of what is called right, in a police office, or a court of law, — and the cheering example of his associates, will again urge him on to the commission of crimes, sup- posing even that his own inclinations would dictate a con- trary course. The warning he has received has rendered him more cautious, and he may now go on for years, earn- ing his livelihood by the same means, without being ever caught in Jlagranti. At last, however, he will be caught up again, and again brought under the influence of social institutions. Let us suppose, again, the happiest state of things which can be imagined for him, under existing cir- cumstances. Let us suppose, that a feeling of the misery and degradation, which attaches to his mode of living, has occasionally got lioldupon his heart ; that, by some provi- dential occurrence he has been brought into contact with influences, by which his attention has been directed to the possibility of a better condition, both as regards his moral nature, and his circumstances ; let us suppose that confine- ment, previously to his final commitment by the magis- trate, or afterwards, to his trial, has abated the buoyancy of his spirits ; that he has become inclined for reflexion, and accessible to the kind exertions of some of those benevolent Christians who visit the prisons, to make the saving health known, where it is most wanted ; — suppose all this to have worked together, to bring his soul to a sort of crisis, in which he is ready to throw off the bondage of iniquity, and to begin a new life. Suppose all this to be the case, does the law wait for the development of this crisis, by which a soul may be saved ? No ! it continues in its cold, heart- less, formal, and rigorous course ; he is brought up for re -examination, or committed, or brought up for trial, HIS REPENTANCE UNAVAILING. 55 not as his state of mind may render advisable, but as the course of the law dictates. Or does the law, and the power that executes the law, take his state of mind into account, when deciding upon his fate .'' No ! Suppose he confess his guilt, melting in tears of repentance — suppose he ex- press his willingness, his determination to amend his life — suppose the magistrate to be moved, and to hesitate about the course which he is to adopt ; one of the tools of that heartless system will step forward — " Don't trust his pro- mises, your worship, he is a notorious thief ; young as he is, we know him to be an old practitioner." This testi- mony, coming from such a quarter, is sufficient to destroy the last chance that remained for the youth, to turn from his evil ways. He is fully committed ; and if his repen- tance should last till the time of his trial, it will be of no avail. His sorrow for the past, his anxious look out for the future, are not regarded by those who — blasphemously, as they do it in the name of all that is sacred — presume to decide what he deserves, and what is to become of him. The circumstantial evidence of the fact is all, that these judges of unrighteous judgment attend to ; and, as if there was no such thing as atonement and mercy, as if they needed it not themselves, nor could imagine that any one else needed it, they pronounce the " sentence of the law" upon the unhappy youth. Such is the spirit of our insti- tutions, that even men, who in private affairs show them- selves to be pious, just, and followers after that which is good, nevertheless unhesitatingly join in those, I repeat it, blasphemous, unrighteous, anti-Christian performances. It will be said : mercy may still be extended to him ; for there is a difference between pronouncing and executing a sen- tence. Be it so ; this may alter the case for the social conscience, whom it furnishes with a sophistical excuse ; but it does not alter it, at least not for the better, with regard to the individual, with whose feelings society thus plays, as the cat does with the mouse. The sentence is not pronounced with a view that it should have no effect ; 56 INFLUENCE OF PRISONS. and unfortunately, the effect does not fail to be produced. The repenting sinner has found his fellow-creatures turn- ing a deaf ear upon his repentance, upon his better deter- minations, and his promises: an unforgiving spirit has been shown, and the effect of this can be no other than to harden him. His better feelings are inevitably chilled, and he returns to his prison with feelings very different from those, with which he came to take his trial. The consequence is, that he now prefers the society of his wicked companions, to the conversation with those, in whom he had confidence, when he felt a favourable change operated in his disposition, but whom he now shuns the more, the more they had succeeded in exercising influence over him. The exertions of Christian benevolence are in- terrupted ; the edge of love and truth is blunted ; and when a mitigation of punishment is announced to him, he will be more induced to murmur against what -remains of his sentence, and to consider the alleviation of it as a happy escape, that has turned up for him by chance, than, in resigned submission to his fate, to persevere in his good determination, and to turn the time of trial and pro- bation, which is imposed upon him, to account for the im- provement of his life. But whilst society, by this unfeeling conduct, positively obstructs in him the rise of those feel- ings, which could bias him to a reformation of his character, it surrounds him with every influence, that is calculated to foster in him the growth of sin. Prisons, houses of cor- rection, and other similar institutions, are so many col- lections of moral monstrosities ; and the contamination and infection among such a number of bad characters, brought into such close contact, must necessarily be more extensive and more dangerous, than that which takes place amongst them when at large ; for the restraint by which they are prevented from the outward performance of their evil thoughts, so far from being a check upon evil com- munication, operates rather as a stimulus to it. So that the youth who enters the place, with a heart disposed for MURDER IN LEGAL FORMS. 5^ evil, and, to a certain degree, familiar with the practice of it, leaves it, at the expiration of the time of his confine- ment, ten times more corrupted, and eager to put into practice the additional knowledge which he has gained. His situation is, at the same time, as devoid of all honest resources as ever ; it is not only hopeless, but desperate. His inevitable fate is a renewed course of immorality, in which he will be interrupted again and again by the arm of human justice ; and to what end ? — to save him from de- struction ? No, but to avenge more and more cruelly upon him the consequences of that state of destitution and degradation, of which, culpable as he may be, by far the greater guilt rests on society itself. Thus he is driven on in the career of delinquency from step to step, till he is at length ripe for that last act of barbarity, which the community perpetrates upon its abandoned members, to whom it has never stretched out a hand of love. Is this the education, which a Christian society owes to its desti- tute children ? Is this the discharge of that sacred trust, which renders the community responsible for the temporal and eternal welfare of every one of its members .'' Whence does society derive the right of taking bloody vengeance upon those unfortunate beings, whose chief crime is, to have too well answered, by their conduct, the means adopted, either with the silent consent, or by direct interposition of society, for the formation of their character ? If it is a bloody deed for an individual, to take away the life of his fellow-creature, is the deed less bloody, because society perpetrates it, because it is not an act of rashness, but of premeditation — an act systematically resolved upon, syste- matically executed, systematically repeated ? Or is it less bloody because society has, by its neglect on one hand, and by its oppression on the other, previously murdered the souls of those, whom it thus prematurely hurries into eternity, to stand before the judgment seat of God .'' Does not society apprehend, that whilst its victims will have, to account for their own transgressions, the very history of their sins 58 IXLAWFll.XKSS OF CAVITAL VIXISHMKNT. will be a loiul accusation a^jainst those, who had the power, but not the will, to Wcouie instriniiental in their rescue, {vnd who used the authority, given them from on high, not to save, but to ruin souls ? Do they consider, that the subtle forms of the law will leave no subterfuge in the eve of Him, whose holiness will lay bare the iniquity of human justice — that '* murder" will be Avritten in flaming chiiracters upon every such deed, which is now seiiled with the seal of lawful authority? Does society think it a sufficient compensation for the neglect of that education, to which every individual has a claim, that the victims of its seltish indiflerence are, by the convulsive fears of death, harassed into a feeling of repentance, the sincerity of "which it must be impossible, for an entire novice in reli- gious knowledge, under such circumstances, to ascertain ? Or is it deemed a satisfactory atonement for the most cri- minal violation of God's law. and for the blasphemous abuse, made of his name, for the purposes of iniquity, that a chaplain is appointed to read the buriid service on those mournful occasions ? It would be foreign to my present purpose to enter more deeply into the question of the lawfulness or unlaAv- fulness of capital punishment, aiid the general consistency or inconsistency of tlie existing criminal laws with the Christian covenant. But as the subject has inevitably been introduced, I may, before concluding, be allowed to add a few remarks, respecting tlie chief sources of that alarming want of faith and love, which society displays in its present conduct towards transgressing bretlireji. The advocates of the present svstem appeal to the authority of the Old Testament, in which capital punislmient is enacted. I will not now ask, whether we are in the same position, in which the Jews were, as an elect people, separated unto the Lord, and destined to preserve the purity of his wor- ship in the midst of idolatrous nations ; — or why it is, that, whilst we reject for our own practice all tlie rest of the Mosaic legislation, which had tliat strict separation for its HUMAXITY OF THE JEWISH LAW. 59 object, we adhere so scrupulously to that part, which fur- nishes us with a pretext for sanguinary enactments ? Xo*" will I urge the important distinction between the covenant of fear and bondage, and that of freedom and of love. I will content myself with contrasting our laws with the laws of Moses ; I will not raise our standard so high, as to look among us for Christian laws. I repeat it, I shall be satisfied, if we be found to have enacted none, that are unjeuish. Against what transgressions does the Jewish law enact capital punishment ? Against none but those that profane the temple of the Lord and his holy things, and those that defile the individual or the community. To preserve purity is the only purpose of capital punishment, as enacted by divine authority. How does this matter stand with us ? WTiat do our laws enact concemincr the man who profaneth the Lord's sanctuary, or breaketh his sabbath, or defileth his neighbour's wife .'' Are these deemed worthy of death among us ? I do not wish that thev should be so punished ; but I cannot see why of those offences, which are considered most culpable in the divine code, we should make lightest ; why those transgressions, which could not, in the institutions established by God, be blotted out unless by the blood of the offender, should be atoned for, among us, with money, the great idol and scape-goat of our institutions ; whilst for that very money's sake we do not scruple, to take away man's life, which God has never, either ordained or permitted, to be taken away for any earthlv thing .•• If the divine legislation for the elect nation be our pattern, why do we not abide by those clear and humane enactments, which the Jewish law contains, respecting offences against property ? Will any one dare to say, that those laws are not applicable to our state of things ? Very likely, indeed I But what does that prove, but that a state of society, for which the laws of God are too humane, is an ungodly state, one which ought on no account to be endured without reproof, and, by those to 60 SEVERITY OF THE ENGLISH LAW. whom power is given, without improvement. Here is the source of the severity of our criminal laws ; our love to Mammon causes us to forget the love, we owe to our fel- low-creatures ; our attachment to our earthly treasures makes us unmindful of those heavenly treasures, of which, in so many thousands of children, we are appointed the guardians. Our anxiety to preserve every shilling in every man''s pocket, is the great obstacle to our preserving Christ in every soul, and every soul in Christ. This leads me to the great principle, on which the duty of giving every child a christian education, rests, and by which, therefore, we must be regulated in the choice and application of our means. But as this point is chiefly involved in the consideration of the second question, I reserve the subject for my next lecture. 61 LECTURE III. TO WHAT SORT AXD DEGREE OF EDCCATIOX CAN' EVERY HUMAX INDIVIDUAL, AS SUCH, LAY CLAIM, IXDEPEX- DENTLY OF RANK, FORTUNE, OR ANY OTHER DISTINC- TION ? In the two Dreceding lectures I have endeavoured to demonstrate the respective duties of the fanily and of society at large, respecting the education of children be- longing to them ; and I have urged the fulfilment of the much neglected duty of society in this respect, especially on the ground, that the whole of human life, with all that belongs to it or arises out of it, has, or at least ought to have, according to the divine sanction, no other purpose than that of leading man to the knowledge of a merciful Father, and a redeeming Saviour, and to bring him, as far as human asencv can do, under the influence of the restoring and sanctifying spirit of God. I have called your atten- tion to the awful consequences, arising out of a state of society, in wliich that important fact is lost sight of ; and I have, at the close of my last lecture, pointed out one of the chief causes of the neglect and indifference, of which, as a body, we are guilty. But I am aware, that the mercantile spirit of our institutions, is not the only impediment to the general discharge of the duty, which devolves upon us, as 62 DOCTRINAL OBSTRUCTION OF THE TRUTH. Christians, to receive every little child in the name of our Lord and Master. There is an obstacle far more difficult to be overcome, because it militates, not against the practice, which has been recommended, but against the very principle, on the ground of which alone that practice can ever be effectually enforced or adopted. There are many who, although agreeing in the whole, or in most of what has been said, concerning the responsibility of the community for the temporal and eternal welfare of its members, and concerning the baneful and deplorable con- sequences of the present system, will, nevertheless, stand out with all their might against the acknowledgment of the fundamental principle, on the truth and vital appre- hension of which both, the reality of the view which has been taken of the subject, and the efficacy of its practical adaptation to the wants of our age, entirely depend. There are many who, in matters of education as well as in others, are ready to admire, and, if it be urged, to put on " a form of godliness," but who, at the same time, " deny the power thereof." But what is the form without the power, the letter without the spirit .'' — Notliing but a whited sepulchre, full of dead men''s bones. Away then, with the idea of a compromise of principle, by which popularity might indeed be gained to the subject, and an apparent success insured, but at the expense of all that renders it worth advocating — so that our last state would be worse than our first. I am aware, that what I have said already, is sufficient to turn away from me all those with whom a deep interest in religion, and a conviction of the necessity of its universal application to the affairs of men, is a ground of decided objection, and a source of unconquerable prejudice ; and it may therefore seem unwise, that I should engage in a controversy, which will at once enlist in the ranks of my adversaries, not only the greatest, but also the most busy, the most zealous, and the most influential part of what is termed the religious world. But it is not my object to gain men, unless it be, that I may gain them to the truth, COMPROMISE UNLAWFUL, 63 and so I have no motive, even if I had a right, to waive the truth, for the sake of gaining them. But I have more than one motive, because more than one call of duty, to declare it as explicitly, as emphatically, as possible. Even with reference to the success of the cause which I am advocating, my only wisdom is, to speak out boldly, in defiance of all prejudice and of all narrow-mindedness, — in defiance of the deafness, which I may produce in the not- religious, and of the slander which I may call forth, in the religious world. IVIy observation has furnished me with but too many instances, in which a good, a great, and sacred object, however fully understood by those with whom it originated, was entirely marred in its progress, and ultimately defeated, by an anxiety of gaining the popular voice in its favour, which led to endless modifi- cations and qualifications of the original purpose. Such men-pleasing prudence may become the worldling, who has nothing to rely on, for the attainment of his object, but his own strength, and his own means ; but it is utterly unworthy of the Christian, who is labouring for the ful- filment, not of his o^vn, but of the divine purpose, and who, therefore, if he have any faith, must implicitly rely on the power, and on the means of Him, in whose service he is engaged. The slightest temptation to suppress one iota of the truth, from the fear of men, or from the desire of pleasing them, is an evidence that the spirit of this Avorld has yet a hold upon his soul — and the great extent to which this is the case in the present day, among the bulk of Christian professors, is the chief prop of all the bigotry and sectarianism, by which this generation is defiling the pure doctrine of Jesus. It is in vain, that this cowardice covers its nakedness with the cloak of charity ; that spirit which foregoeth or compoundeth the truth from a wish for popularity, is a far more cowardly, a far more un- faithful spirit, than that, which denies it under the influ- ence of fear ; and so far from deserving the name of chris- tian charity, it ought to be stigmatized as enmity against 64 COMPROMISE NO CHARITY. Christ. The conviction that this spirit of pseudo -charity, this Pharisaical hankering after religious popularity, or, in other words, after the assent and applause of the name- professing multitude, is the Samiel of our age, * the dry wind of the high places,' by which the seed of religion among us is ' blasted before it be grown up ' — would in itself be a sufficient inducement, to depart from the general practice, and, in defence of truth and principle, to make a determined stand against public opinion. But this duty becomes still more imperative, if, as is the case in the present instance, the principle to be proclaimed or advo- cated be one of the most vital importance, one which involves in its consequences every relationship and every department of human life, and which, if once acknowledged, and brought into practice, will operate the most radical and the most universal reform. On such a subject con- sciously to compromise, is a heinous sin — in such a matter, to proclaim the truth on the house-tops, is a sacred obli- gation. I have thus prefaced what I have to say, respecting the fundamental principle of all truly Christian education, of that education, to which alone I would give theoretically my assent, and practically my assistance, because, willing as I am, to engage in a controversy, where it is needed, nothing is more discordant with my feelings, or more ab- horrent from my principles, than a controvei'sial spirit. Neither would I advocate one single idea, because it happens to be mine, nor would I controvert any opinion, because it happens to be that of some other man, or party of men. All I seek, is the truth, which, I hope, I am sin- cerely willing to acknowledge, wherever it is to be met with ; and in the same manner do I invite others, whatever may be their creed or their denomination, to forget every per- sonal consideration, every love of party, and every attach- ment to system, every regard for human authority, as well as every conceit of fancied sources of illumination, whether designated by a prof9,ne or a sacred name, and strictly and THE LIGHT THAT LIGHTETH EVEEY MAX. 65 exclusively to adhere to what is consistent with the records of revelation, and with that internal light of the Divine Spirit, by which alone the letter can receive life and under- standing, as by it alone both the mysteries of our own bosom, and the hidden things of God are made manifest to the eye of our mind. The principle, to which I thus solemnly call your atten- tion, as forming the basis of all true education, is not one of my own establishing, or of my own discovering ; neither is it a new one ; it is as old as the human species, and its knowledge is as old as the Christian dispensation ; but, nevertheless, its import is still but inadequately appre- hended by those who admit it ; and, by others, it is directly denied, in spite of the most express and most unequivocal declaration, the meaning of which cannot be evadedj but by a strange perversion of terms. In that most interesting portion of the holy scriptures, in which the beloved apostle draws the veil from the mysterious nature of his Divine Master, and acquaints us with his pre- existence from eternity, as the everlasting Word, which was with God from the beginning, and with the relation which he bore to a fallen world, previously to his appear- ance in the flesh, it is expressly declared that He by whom " all things were made," who has the power of making those that receive him " the sons of God," who " was made flesh and dwelt among us," was " the light of men," that " true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world;" and to obviate every occasion of stumbling, Avhich might arise out of the contrast between the import of that declaration, and the actual state of human kind, it is added, that, although he was in the world, " the world knew him not," that " he came unto his own, but his own received him not ;" that " the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not." It is difficult to conceive how the great truth contained in this declaration could be evaded by those who profess to believe in the letter of it, nay, by those who, with an intolerance unparalleled even by the 66 TO BE UNDERSTOOD LITERALLY. most bigoted Romanism, will permit none but the most literal interpretation of scripture. Why then, ye that are haters of all spiritualizing interpretations, ye that cleave to the letter, and to the letter only, why then do ye spiritualize this declaration of mercy, made unto all men, and for the benefit of all, so as to confine its import to that small number, to which your vain conceits would fain exclusively appropriate the gifts of heavenly grace ? Why then, ye that are literal every where, where you ought to be spiri- tual, are you not literal here ? Here it is written lite- rally : — "That was the true light which lighteth every man that Cometh into the world" — why do you not believe in this literally ? It is written again literally of this light, that it " shineth in darkness ;" and although no one will deny that ye are darkness, yet it is spiritualizing too much to suppose that ye are the only darkness ! Why then do ye affect to think, that where the world is spoken of, it meaneth but you, and where darkness is spoken of, that again it meaneth but you ? Why are ye so loth to admit, that ye and all your brethren are forming one world of darkness, in which, by the mercy of God, the light still shineth — that although it shineth in all and unto all, yet it is comprehended, fully comprehended by none, and re- ceived but by a few ? Consider of this ; for it is an awful presumption for the creature who itself standeth in need of mercy, to restrict the mercy of the most merciful. Why do ye wrest the declarations of the Lord, and why, taking possession of the gates of the kingdom, of which he hath never appointed you the keepers, do ye obstruct the way of those who are desirous of entering ? O ye blind leaders of the blind ! Is it not in consequence of your traditions, of your catechisms, and creeds, in consequence of the bigoted spirit with which you oppress, by all means in your power, every one that doth not conform himself to your inter- pretations, but looketh to the Spirit of whom the Scriptures testify, rather than to you, of whom neither the Scriptures NO EDUCATION WITHOUT THIS PRINCIPLE. S'] nor the Spirit do testify, but on the contrary both against you ; is it not, I say, in consequence of the violence which the kingdom sufFereth through you, that there are so many who " have not," and from whom, therefore, is " taken away even that which they have?" How is it possible that any good can be done in education, unless it be done by a power of goodness ? And what other power of good- ness is there, but He by whom every thing was made, who was with God, and God from the beginning ; who was made manifest in the flesh in the person of Jesus, to make known unto men the source of all life and light ? What duty, or what right, has any parent or any other man, to hold communication with, or exercise influence over the child, except in the communion of that power ? If that power be not in the child, if the child be entirely given up to his own nature, which we know to be totally defiled and corrupted, what caii man hope to effect by his educa- tion, but to foster the growth of the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts ? If we impart knowledge to the childj without the agency of that power within his mind, if it be the understanding of the old man, that receiveth our instruction, what can we hope to plant, but that knowledge which puffcth up, the wisdom of this world, which is foolishness with God ? If we enforce the practice of virtue, if we form habits of good conduct in the child, without the agency of that power within his heart ; if it be the old man, that is made to follow after righteousness, is it not evident that he will not attain it ? Wherefore ? Because the righteousness is not sought by faith in the power of righteousness, but as it were by the works of the law. If we teach the letter of revelation, if we inculcate the doctrines of it, without the agency of that power in the child's soul, if it be the old man that receiveth the word, and receiveth the interpretation, how is it pos- sible otherwise, than that his faith should stand in the wisdom. of men, and not in the power of God ? What can knowledge profit, if we take away the key of knowledge ? F 2 68 god''s pukpose universal. What can we expect from the work of education, tvhen undertaken without faith in him who is all and in all, but that it make clean the outside of the cup and platter, and leave the inward part full of ravening and wickedness ? And what better answer can be given to those, who would refer the declaration, " that he is the light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world," to Christ"'s appear- ance in the flesh, or to the written record of his cove- nant, and not to the universal presence and agency of his Spirit, than the reproof of our Saviour : " Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without, make that which is tvithin also ?" What is the whole import of Scripture, from beginning to end ? What is the sum and substance of all God's dispensations to a fallen world? What is the result of our spiritual communion with the searcher of hearts ? Is it not, that by sin " death hath passed upon all men f but that there is a " living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe," and " who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth ;" — that for this great, holy, and merciful pur- pose, God hath granted unto men forgiveness of sins, through the sacrifice of his Son, who " gave himself a ransom for all,'''' and hath caused to shine, in the darkness of their fallen natures, " that true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." Does it require any farther testimony to prove that God's purpose of sal- vation is an universal purpose, that the means appointed by him for its fulfilment are universal means, universally appointed and granted f The question is not here, whe- ther or not these means are universally embraced. Let it be, that there are many who " have not submitted them-^ selves unto the righteousness of God," — many who receive not the light, and, in this sense, " have not the Spirit of Christ." I have nothing to do with this ; for it concerneth judgment, and judgment is the Lord's; what concerneth me and my duty, is the question, whether Christ have THE MEANS TO IT UNIVERSALLY GRANTED. 69 given himself a ransom /or all, or merely /or a few ; whe- ther his light be given to every man that cometh into the world, or only to some of them; whether the purpose of God be universal or partial ; and, if it must be admitted to be universal : whether God, at the same time that he included all men in his purpose, have excluded most men, or any one man, from the possession of the means, by which alone this purpose can be attained? The question is, whether the Omnipresent be omnipresent in space only, and not in spirit ; and, if his omnipresence in spirit, his presence in the heart of every creature, cannot be denied : whether his presence be effectual or ineffectual, whether it be felt or not felt by the creature, by the obedient as a power of love, and faith and life everlasting, — by the dis- obedient as a power of wrath, of reproof, and of condemna- tion. Whether it be of the flesh or of the spirit, of letter or of life, of the name or of the power, that the Lord spoke, when he said : " He that believeth on him is not condemned : but he that believeth not, is cotidemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." Or what meaneth the baptist, when he testifieth, " He that believeth on the Son, hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son, shall not see life ; but the wrath of God ahideth on him." Let these questions be satisfactorily answered ; let not this primitive power of seeing the truth, and of obeying it, this standard of right, without which the heathen could never have been " a law to themselves," this soul-stirring, reproving, correcting, enlightening and strengthening influence, be confounded with those higher gifts of grace : the new birth of the soul, whereby Christ, being received by us, becometh in us the hope of glory, and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit — let these things, as they are spiritual, be spiritually discerned ; but let not the blasphemous notion be entertained, that God, the 70 RULE OF EDUCATION, LAID DOWN BY CHRIST. giver of every good and perfect gift, who has declared that *' every one that asketh receiveth ;"" that " he that seeketh, findeth ;"" has withheld from any man that, without which no man could have an idea, or a motive, the will or the power, of asking or of seeking. Let not God's gracious promise, that he will give more abundantly to those that ask him, be turned into a sinful disregard and forgetful- ness, of what he has given to all, before any could ask. Let not the weak be offended, and the proud ensnared, by a vain and perplexing doctrine, which either consigns man to the indolent inactivity of predestinarianism, or impresses him with the profane and dangerous notion, that he is to make, as it were, the first advances for reconcilia- tion with his God. But " hear the righteousness which is of faith, on what wise it speaketh : Say not in thine heart : * Who shall ascend into heaven .?' (that is, to bring down Christ frorn above) or, ' Who shall descend into the deep .?' (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it.'* The word is nigh thee, even in THY MOUTH, AND IN THY HEART." It is in this faith only, that we can ever enter into the spirit of that memorable declaration of our Saviour, which is the golden rule of all education : "^ Whoso shall RECEIVE one such LITTLE CHILD IN MY NAME, RE- CEIVETH ME !" And here, again, I would wish, that our great leaders of doctrine, our scribes and lawyers, with whom the letter availeth so much, Avould for once keep to the letter. Hear their interpretation : " Whoso shall receive one such little child in my name^'' i. e., whoso shall, from motives of Christian charity, provide for the instruction of such a little child, in a school conducted upon one of " the most approved systems," (where, in addi- tion to other knowledge, calculated to fit him for some trade, he will be made to spell over the letter of the Gospel, and to learn, by rote, the catechism of the party to which his benefactor belongs, so as to give him a chance of becoming a professor of the same party, WHAT IT IS TO llECEIVE A CHILD IN HIS NAME. "]! if he retain the knowledge so acquired, and a Chris- tian, if, in spite of this instruction, grace should be added from above ;) whoso does this " receiveth 7»e," i. e. shall be rewarded as if Christ had been in such a helpless condition, and the same service had been rendered to him. Is this the hfe and spirit — is it even the letter of the declaration of our Lord ? — Why, then, is it not taken literally : " Whoso shall receive one such little child in my name, receiveth me ;" i. e. whoso having undertaken the rearing of one such little child, shall humbly acknowledge, that he himself can tlo nothing for it, but that there is one mightier than himself, even the everlasting Word, who hath both the will and the power of influencing the heart and mind of the little child — whoso, in this faith, shall make it his whole and sole object, to become an instrument in the hand of that holy power, for the purpose of aiding to bring the child into a state, in which he will be ready to listen to the instructions, and to submit to the dictates, of that inward teacher and ruler, he, says our Lord, in truth and in reality receiveth me. Born from above, and one with me, his soul holds intercourse, in holiness, truth, and love, not with the selfish feelings, or the corrupt tendencies, which arise from the fallen and sinful nature of the child, but with my own pure and undefiled nature, which I have deposited in the child's heart, as a spark, ready to burst forth into a sacred flame, as soon as it is kindled by the congenial flame of my spirit, manifested through one of my faithful and single-hearted servants. And he Avho doeth so, looketh for no reward, for he hath his reward. Here is the basis on which our education must be founded, to be a Christian education, in the true sense of the word ; an education by the means, and to the ends of Christ ; far difl'erent from those lifeless systems, which prevail so largely among us, and which have, some of them at least, a form of godliness, viz.. Scripture reading and catechisation, but deny the power thereof, viz., the direct 72 EDUCATION A SERVICE OF CHllIST. operation and agency of a divine life upon the feelings and convictions of the child. It is inconceivable, how any but infidels, half Christians, or mock Christians, can, with any degree of consistency, object to the principle, of building education wholly and solely upon the faith in the indwell- ing, and the internal operation of that divine principle, which, if it be gradually received into the child's soul, as the stream of a new life, and brought to full consciousness and clearness in him, is, what is termed in Scripture, "' Christ formed in us," and makes us " new creatures in Christ." No Christian can think himself justified in edu- cating in the child the carnal mind, which is enmity against God ; all that a Christian can wish to do, is, to become subservient in his influence upon the child, to the gradual formation and ultimate birth of a spiritual mind, of the new man, in the child. But if this be avowedly our object, and we be Christians in truth and in spirit, we must know that it is impossible for us to educate the new man into the child ; but that we can only, by the outward manifestation of that same spirit of Christ, and by judicious treatment, as regards both instruction and discipline, lead the child more clearly to perceive, and more readily to obey, this internal ruler ; and we must know, likewise, that the existence of such a ruler, and our faith in him, is the indis- pensable condition of our so doing ; for the new man is not born " of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."* * The following testimony ofpersong,l experience, extracted from "The "Journal of Job Scott, an American Minister," is so direct to the point, that I cannot forbear inserting it here : — " Almost as early as I can remember ^' any thing, I can well remember the Lord's secret workings in my heart, by " his Grace or Holy Spirit, very sensibly bringing me under condemnation for " my evil thoughts and actions, as rudeness and bad words, though I was not " frequent in the use of the latter ; for disobedience to parents ; for inwardly ^' wishing, in moments of anger, some evil to such as offended me ; and such " like childish and corrupt dispositions and practices, which, over and beyond " all outward instruction, I was made sensible were evil, and sprang from a " real root of evil in me. And I am in a full belief that, iii every quarter of the ^^ globe, children at an early age have good and evil set before them in the CONSEQUENCES OF THIS PEINCIPLE. ^3 Taking this view of the subject, there cannot be much " shining of the light of Christ in their hearts, with clearness and evidence ^^ sufficient to discover to them their duty, if they honestly attend to it. And " though I am deeply sensible of the necessity and utility of much careful " guardianship, cultivation, and instruction, in order to guard children against " the corrupting influence of example, invitation, and perverse inclination, " which abundantly and prevalently surround them ; yet, I fear a great part ^' of the tuition, which too many children receive, tends rather to blunt the " true sense and evidence of divine truths upon the mind, and to substitute " notions and systems instead thereof, than to encourage an honest attention " to the teachings which lead into all truth. I am satisfied, if the teachings " of men were never to thwart the teachings of the Holy Spirit, many " things viouldfix on the mind of children to he evils, ivhich they are now in- ^' s true ted and persuaded are innocent and commendable. Indeed, it is " mournful to observe how many of them are bolstered up in pride, vanity, " and revenge ; taught to plume themselves upon their supposed superiority " of parts and attainments, nursed up in the ideas of grandeur and worldly " honour, yea, inspired with exalted notions of the merit of valour, heroism, *' and human slaughter. Many there are who put light for darkness, and " darkness for light ; bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter. They call the " divine light, ' tvhich lighteneth every man that cometh into the tvorld,^ a " natural light, an ignis fatuus, or by some other ignominious epithet ; though " the Scripttires declare it to be the very life of the holy word, that ivas in "the BEGINNIXG with god, and truly was god. There are many, ** who, under a notion of advocating the true cause and doctrine of Christ, " strike violently against the very life of it, and tvill not allow that ' the "manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal,' though *' the Scriptures expressly assert it, and experience confirms it to those who " rightly profit by the measure received. Many who have, from tradition and ^' education, for a season believed, the Holy Spirit, graciously vouchsafed them, " was some very inferior thing to the true Spirit of the everlasting and most " Holy God, have, at length, by yielding to its dictates, and taking it for their " leader, grown wiser than their teachers, and been indubitably instructed and "assured, that it was indeed the eternal spirit, which from their " infantile days strove ivith them, for their reconciliation tvith God, the eternal " source of it, as it did with the old world, for their recovery from their corrupted, " alienated state. In regard to my oivn early acquaintance with the Holy " Spirifs operation, though I then knew not ivhat it teas, I have noiv no more '• doubt about it, than I have about the existence and omnipresence of God. '■ It is sealed upon my heart with as much clearness and certainty, that it is " the Spirit of the living God, and that it visits, wooes, invites, and strives " with all, at least for a season, as it is that God is no respecter of persons ; " and I as fully believe no man can have any clear knowledge of God, or of his *' own religious duty, without the Holy Spirifs influence, as I believe, the "wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, and that the world by wisdom " knows him not," 74 THE END OF EDUCATION NOT TEMPOllAL. difficulty attending the question ; to what sort and degree of education every human individual can, as such, lay claim, independently of rank, fortune, or any other dis- tinction ? Whatever is in any way calculated to bring him more fully under the influence and controul of that indwelling power of divine life, forms part of that educa- tion which, in a Christian land, ought not only to be placed within reach of, but, with anxious solicitude, to be be- stowed upon every child. No rank can be so high, no cir- cumstances so affluent, as to render it unnecessary, or in the slightest degree less valuable ; nor can there be any station in society so low, as to preclude it from the claim to its blessings. And, if it is evident, on one hand, that the situation in life of the parents, should not be permitted to affect it, it is equally obvious, on the other, that, so far from being made subservient to the child's own pursuits in after-life, it ought to build up in the child that, to which the whole of his earthly existence is to be a constant ministration. It is not by the claims, which society intends to make at a future period upon the individuals, nor by those artificial distinctions, which our unsocial feelings, and, derived from them, our social prejudices, have introduced among men, that the sort and degree of education bestowed upon every child, ought to be regulated ; but, by the pur- pose which God has with every individual, and by the means with which he has gifted him, for the attainment of that purpose. Such phrases as these: — *' That will not make him a good carpenter, or a good shoemaker." — " It may be very well for those who can afford to amuse them- selves with these things." — " I really do not think that it is benefiting the poor, to give them so much education — it will only make them discontented with, or disqualify them for, their station ;" — ought never to come over benevolent, over Christian lips. It ought to be recollected, that a man's station is made for him, and not the man for the station. We must not permit ourselves to talk, or to think, as if this life had an existence for itself, and a purpose in itself, ALL THINGS TO BE REFERRED TO ONE PURPOSE. ^5 as if religion was the only thing in time, that refers to eternity ; but we should have it present to our minds, that the whole of this life is nothing, and worse than nothing, unless it be referred to a future state, which, let it not be forgotten, is, at the same time, the original one. This relation between time and eternity we must not acknow- ledge merely as a doctrine, to be mentioned in our prayers, and urged in sermons ; we must make the feeling of that doctrine an habitual feeling of our souls, and let our conduct become a practical exemplification of it. How differently from what it is now, would then the plan of our lives be sketched out, how differently filled up. Instead of setting apart one portion of our time for the service of God, and another portion, generally far the larger one, for the things of this world, we should appropriate to the pursuit of heavenly objects the whole of our time ; so much so, that even the bustle of life, as far as we felt it a duty to par- ticipate in it, could never divert our attention, for a mo- ment, from the great purpose. Instead of considering ourselves responsible for the exercise of a spiritual influ- ence, with reference to some persons only, and viewing our relation to others as founded merely in the things of this earth, and, therefore, destitute of all reference to any thing spiritual, we should feel, that 'every intercourse with ano- ther creature, which sets aside the circumstance of his being created by the same God, and placed upon this earth for the same purpose with ourselves, and deals with him merely as with an earthly being, is a positive sin ; that it is a duty we owe, both to others and to ourselves, to enter into no relationship whatever, without sanctifying it, as an opportunity of promoting the kingdom of heaven — because every communication, established independently of this object, becomes a vehicle of corruption between others and ourselves. And if we felt this, and gave it practical effect in the regulation of our own lives, how differently should we then feel, and think, and act, with reference to the education of our children. Could it then ever occur to us. 76 EVERY FINITE PURPOSE TO BE ABANDONED. to give one education for the glory of God, and another education for the getting on in the world ? I think not. We should then perceive, what our Lord means, when he says, " No man can serve two masters ;" we should then draw nearer, both in understanding and in practice, to the spirit of the Apostle's injunction: " Whether, therefore, ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of Godr It is hardly possible to conceive the immense change, which the literal accomplishment of this rule would pro- duce in the whole aspect of I'society. If every subordinate purpose of life were done away with in our social institu- tions, if the majority of men — not to say every man — sought nothing but the kingdom of God, and its righteous- ness ; how many motives of oppression, on one hand, how many sources of anxiety on the other, would then cease ; how many necessities, which we have artificially imposed upon ourselves, and the weight of which we foolishly in- crease, in proportion as we feel their pressure, would then entirely vanish ; how many false aims, now proposed by society to its deluded members, would then sink into nothingness ; how many temptations to sin, now publicly held out, would thereby be avoided ; and how many a legislative enactment might then be spared, which has the object of curing those moral diseases, which the false principles of the social constitution necessarily produce, but, as it is intended to cure the result only, and not the cause, can have no other effect than that of rendering the state of things still more artificial, more corrupt, more abhorrent from Christian principle. How many of those callings, which, — as they have for their object the satisfac- tion of the unnatural wants, or the gratification of the defiled tastes of society, and for their motive and stimulus, the prospect of worldly gain or honour — are as many snares, in which the souls of men are entangled, would then become utterly useless and unnecessary. How little would men have to do, and to care, for their earthly sub- THE PRESEXT TEXUENCY OF SOCIETY. 77 sistence, if they forgot their earthly purposes, and sought nothing but the kingdom of heaven ! And how httle would there, then, be of that vain religious talk, by which the pro- fessing world are now endeavouring to disguise from them- selves the absence of real religious feeling, in the greater part of their social relations, and of their daily transac- tions. This would be a new earth, indeed ; in which an orthodox saint, with the swelling arrogance of his doc- trinality, and the self-complacent consciousness of his reli- gious popularity, would feel himself quite as new, as the haughty merchant, who thinks himself responsible for nothing but his bills of exchange, and estimates the value of men by pounds sterling. But I must not indulge myself further in the contemplation of a spectacle, which, considering the present condition of society, seems more like a fanciful fairy tale, than like the de- scription of a state of things, to which we are approaching. Distant as the prospect may appear to some, the period, when these things will be realized, is perhaps not very remote; it may be brought about with unexpected rapi- - account, perhaps, far from correct : his view of human nature mav be nothing but a system of errors, and vet it may be a highly ingenious productico of the mind. But the verv fact that our philosophies of the human mind are productions of the human mind, is the reason why we are yet so backward in the knowledge of human nature ; it is not an ingenious explanaticm of the most striking or the most puzzling phenomena, we want, but a simple statement of the causes £rotn wMch those phenomena proceed : and this is not a matter of invention, but a matter of discover^- and acknowledgment- Hitherto, however, the conceit of the suificiency of the radonal powers of man for the establi-shment of truth, has been so universal, — even among the religious world, who entertain it with reference to every branch of human knowledge, religion alone excepted, — that the lawfulness of forming h_)-potheses in matters of science, provided they be sup- ported by a number of facts, sufficient to make them appear probable, has never been called in question. Hypothesis, 82 HYPOTHESIS AND TRUTH. however, and truth are opposed in their very natures, for truth offers itself to the eye of the mind with a self-evi- dence and an absolute certainty, before which the idea of hypothetical admission or acknowledgment appears as a sacrilege ; and hypothesis, on the other hand, courts atten- tion by a display of dazzling and insinuating qualities, which truth ever scorns as utterly unworthy. Hypothesis is swelled up in the robes of argument, in order to astonish and thereby to impose upon us ; whereas, truth appears with such simplicity, that the humble soul only can per- ceive, how infinitely it is above us. Hypothesis is a vile coquette, feigning attachment to all that flatter her, and condescending to the very basest means of increasing the host of her admirers. Truth is a heavenly maid, who shrinks from the profane eye of vanity, whose chaste looks true love alone can attract. This uncongeniality of hypothesis with truth, is the reason why our sciences depart from the way of truth, in the same proportion as they are mingled with, or founded upon, hypothesis ; and as no science, perhaps, has been treated in a more hypothetical manner than the science of the human mind, so, likewise, is there none in which we fall more short of the truth. Hence, as it is written, that the world by wisdom knew not God, so it may likewise be said, that man by wisdom knoweth not himself. It is, of course, impossible for me to enter into a full and detailed discussion of so vast a subject : I must con- tent myself with urging its great importance, in particular reference to the subject of education, from which it ought never to be separated. The miserable state in which edu- cation generally is, can only be accounted for by the gene- ral ignorance of teachers in this department of knowledge ; and nothing, on the other hand, can be a more striking proof of the absolute darkness, in which the philosophy of the human mind is still involved, than the fact, that the different attempts of establishing that science, have been made with hardly any reference to the gradual develop- OPPOSITE EXTREMES OF EKROR. 83 ment of the powers of the soul in infancy, childhood, and youth, as if the nature of any thing could be under- stood, independently of the knowledge of its origin, and the history of its formation. No one will ever be able to form a correct estimate of man's nature, unless he watch it from the earliest dawn of life, through the various stages of its progress ; nor will any one ever be able to nurture up the mind and heart of a child, without a general know- ledge of human nature. This is so obvious, that it would seem superfluous to say it, were it not for the fact, that, in practical life, education, and the philosophy of the human mind, are as unconnected as two of the most heterogeneous trades. Nor shall we ever see this evil remedied, until the public at large free themselves from the bondage of some hacknied systems, handed down from generation to genera- tion, and received with the same veneration and confidence, as the legends and traditions in the Romish church — such, for instance, as Locke's doctrine of the tabula rasa, or blank sheet, on which it is the teacher's task to scribble the necessary ideas. But if a salutary degree of diffidence should be exercised with reference to these hereditary systems, no less caution is required in the examination and adoption of some that have newly sprung up among us'. As the very antipode of Locke, a system has recently been started, which not only recognizes the existence of a variety of faculties, but distinguishes and defines them with an accuracy hitherto unknown in the philosophy of the mind, and the more tempting, because supported by a host of facts — ^not speculative facts, but facts which admit of de- monstration to the five senses. Between this topography of the soul, and Locke's terra incognita, there are an in- definite number of intermediate views, in which the balance is held more or less equally between the supposed primi- tive powers of the mind, and the presumed influence of education. But, widely as these various views and sys- tems may diff'er, in their foundation and their superstruc- ture, their value, when put to the test of truth, and applied G 2 .84 REVELATION iVND HUMAN SCIENCE. to the practical purposes of education, will, I am afraid, turn out to be much the same. I should be sorry to be understood to say anything in the slightest degree tending to depreciate an accurate knowledge of the different powers of the mind ; on the contrary, I con- sider that knowledge to be most essential, not only in edu- cation, but, generally, for the economy both of our internal and external life. Yet this knowledge will be altogether dead and valueless, if, as is the case very frequently, and particularly in the systems alluded to, the existence of the different powers be assumed or ascertained as a mere matter of fact, without due reference to the cause, from which they spring, and to the purpose, for which they are intended. It will not do to say : — We find such and such facts in the physical organization of man, and hence we conclude that such and such is the nature of his mind, and such and such the purpose of his existence. The conclusion from the effect to the cause, from the means to the purpose is, to say the least of it, always a very doubtful one ; and if there be other sources from which cause and purpose may be ascertained, in a more direct manner, they are unquestionably preferable. This is the great value of revelation for human science, a value which has never been understood — that revelation informs us of the causes and purposes of all that exists, and thereby gives us the key to that world of facts, which is displayed before us. Thus, with reference to the knowledge of man's nature, revela- tion supplies us with information the most important, and such as, from no other source, least of all from an observa- tion of the facts of the mind, or an investigation of its powers, we could ever have attained. For the sake of a clearer understanding of what I shall afterwards have to say, I may, perhaps, be allowed to sum up the subject in the following manner : — I. As regards the history of human nature : 1. Man's soul was originally created as an object of the agency of the divine life ; its faculties were concentrated HISTORY OF THE HUMAN SOUL. 85 upon its Maker, whose influence gave them life, a life of harmonious consciousness in themselves, and a life of har- monious expansion over the whole creation of God. It was an instrument of psaltery, from which the breath of Jehovah drew heavenly notes of bliss to the soul, and of glory to himself. 2. It was the will of God, that this state should be per- petuated, and thus the purpose of man's creation accom- plished, by a voluntary yielding, on the part of man, to the influence of his Maker, and, consequently, the powers of the soul were instructed not only with a capability of receiving the divine influence, but also with a capability of rejecting it ; and both states, the existence with God, and in God, and the existence without God and out of God, were set before man, in their true light, the former as life, the latter as death. 3. The use which man made of this liberty of choice, was to take the government of the faculties of his soul out of the hands of God into his own ; whereby he gave birth, in himself, to a tendency opposed to the divine influence, and he not only became liable to the influence of other evil beings, but he became evil in himself. Under the rule of his own evil spirit, the faculties of his soul fell into a state of contradiction among themselves, and of discrepancy with the creation of God. The harmony of the true life, for which they were destined, was lost, and, instead thereof, came the discord of a false life, which, truly, was death. 4. Although the condition of man was thus altered, God's original purpose in the creation of man remained unchanged ; and, therefore, God did not abandon man, even in his degraded state ; but he placed him in his pre- sent condition, the wants and difliculties of which are cal- culated to impress him with a sense of his dependence ; and to counteract, and ultimately to conquer, his evil spirit, God continued upon him, the influence of that power of true and perfect life, by which, originally, his soul was exclusively ruled, and which still influences him. 86 PRESENT STATE OF THE HUMAN SOUL, in a greater or lesser degree; unwillingly, in those who have not received it, but are, for a period, or at times, rendered incapable of resistance by the helplessness of their con- dition; unconsciously, in those who have not acknowledged it ; but willingly, in those who have received it, and con- sciously in those who have believed in it, who acknow- ledge and profess it. He who receives it only, when under the sway of necessity, and, therefore, both unwillingly and unconsciously, is in a reprobate state, a state of sin and darkness — he who receives it willingly, but unconsciously, is under the law — he who receives it willingly and con- sciously, is in a state of sanctification.* II, As regards man*'s present condition : 1. Man is fallen off from the original purpose of his creation. 2. God intends to restore man to that purpose. 3. Man, being a fallen creature, has in himself an evil spirit, which turns away the faculties of his soul from the purpose for which they were created, and rules them unto destruction. 4. Man, being destined to be restored, has dwelling in himself, though unknown to himself, a good spirit, the Word, which was one with God from the beginning, which, if yielded and subriiitted to by him, will recal the facul- ties of his soul to the purpose for which they were created, and rule them unto life everlasting. Let these premises, derived from revelation, be granted, let them be the torch by the aid of which we penetrate into the mysteries of the human breast, and the field of psychology may fairly be thrown open to observation and inquiry. Let every fact that is observed, be brought under the rays of this light, and it will be elucidated ; it will become itself a point of light, from which light will * It may, in these days of easy offence, be due to the weakness of some, to remind them, that the above is not an enmneration of all the dispensations of mercy, but merely of such, as have for their immediate object the government of man'' s mental and moral faculties. THE PRINCIPLES OF PSYCHOLOGY EEVEALED. 87 be reflected upon all the other facts connected with it. It is by this light, and by this light only, that clearness can ever be brought into the dark recesses of metaphysical science ; by this light — apprehended, of course, not in word and letter merely, but in life and spirit — the facts of man's immortal nature, the operations of his soul, hitherto en- veloped in such deep mystery — will become as accessible to inquiry, as easy of comprehension, as any the most common fact of natural philosophy has hitherto been. We pride ourselves much in the certainty of our know- ledge in those matters, which admit of the evidence of the senses, forgetting that the senses are the most fallible part of us ; but how much greater that certainty, which would have for its foundation the evidence of divine light, en- lightening the faculties of our soul, if we knew but how to submit our scientific investigations to the influence of that light. It is undeniably a proof of the deep hold which corruption has upon man's nature, that after so clear a re- velation of spiritual things, as the Christian dispensation involves, man should still be bold enough to seek for any knowledge on human ground — that he should still have sciences not comprehended within the range of divine know- ledge ; that he should still consider the knowledge, which God imparts by his Spirit, less comprehensive than that, which man acquires, as he supposes, by his own faculties ; or rather, that he should still attribute to his own faculties any of that knowledge, the source of which has been so distinctly pointed out to him. I trust, however, that this dark period is now at its close ; the conviction is firm upon my mind, that it will form part of that great reform, to which I am looking forward, that all knowledge what- soever, whether it concern the things of God, or the things of man, or outward creation, will be derived from, and at- tributed to, the one universal source of all light and life, to Him, in whom we live and move, and have our being — so that, not only with regard to what is called religious knowledge, but with regard to all knowledge, of every de- 88 THE FACULTIES AND THE MOVING POWERS. scription, the prophecy will be fulfilled, that they shall all be taught of the Lord. Then will the distinction between religious and worldly knowledge cease, inasmuch as, then, all knowledge will be religious. This reform will require, on the part of the unbelieving world, a deep humiliation of that proud and vain spirit, which attributes to the ' light of reason' all praise and glory.; and on the part of the believing world, no less a humiliation of that doctrinal and unwarrantable conceit, which opposes itself to the farther teachings of the Spirit of God, on the ground of what He has taught already. If it be asked, in what depart- ment of human knowledge that reform is to begin, the answer is, decidedly : in the knowledge of man''s mental and moral powers; as that knowledge, which declares itself, although it is not, independent of the divine light, began with the knowledge of the things that are without, so will that new knowledge, which is, avowedly and con- sciously derived from that light, begin with the know- ledge of the things that are within. Then we shall hear no longer of the philosophy of the human mind, which attributes to the faculties of the soul an innate power of action, either collectively or indivi- dually ; for the faculties will then be distinguished, as they ought to be, from the powers that move them. Much of the ignorant arrogance of the rationalists, much of the con- fusion of religionists, might be avoided by this distinc- tion alone. The former would be less confident in the infallibility of their conclusions, when drawn according to the laws of thinking ; and the latter would not practically disavow, in part, the important doctrine of the fall, by the unwarrantable supposition that our reasoning faculties do not partake in a corruption, which is represented as being confined to our feelings. It would then be seen, that our faculties, whether they be faculties of reason, or of moral feeling, or of conscience, have not in themselves any posi- tive power or impulse of action, and, consequently, neither a good nor an evil tendency ; — for where there is no tendency CENTRAL POINT OF ALL THE FACULTIES. 89 at all, how can there be a determination ? — but that they are all brought into action, and kept in it, either by the evil spirit of man, which, in his fallen condition, is his natural impulse, or by the good Spirit of God, which was his natural impulse in his original state, and will be so again in a state of perfect regeneration — and that, con- sequently, his reason is fallacious, or consistent with truth, his moral feeling defiled or pure, his conscience sophis- ticated or conformable to the standard of righteousness, according to the spirit by which they are governed. The practical consequence of this view, with reference to educa- tion, is obvious ; viz., the duty of the parent or teacher to restrain, as far as possible, the evil spirit of man from swaying the faculties of the child ; and to manifest to the child, in conversation and conduct, in instruction and disci- pline, those virtues Avhich are the effect of the operations of the good Spirit of God upon man's soul, — that the evil spirit in the child may not find in his parent or teacher that with which it can hold communication, and so may be forced, at least in a measure, to give way to tlie impulses of that good spirit, in which alone the child ought to be linked together with those who undertake the care of his education. Another important truth, connected with this view of psychology, is, the centralization of all the faculties of the soul, in one point of harmony, for one universal purpose. Different purposes are commonly assigned to different faculties : and, although, in the present state of man, this may appear to be the case, it ought not to be forgotten, that this is a consequence of the fall, in which the original purpose, as well as the original impulse, was lost, as far, at least, as man's own will and knowledge are concerned. The evil spirit of self, which sways man in that condition, finding a world of faculties, a microcosm, in the soul, cor- responding with the universe of creation, but rejecting the purpose for which they were given, uses them as instru- ments, by which the universe may be turned into a rich 90 DEPAllTUEE OF MAN FROM THAT CENTRE. source of self-gratification. They were given, as so many channels, through which the soul, internally united with God, and enlivened by him, might commune with him, in his creation, which is the vesture of his glory : but, in his fallen condition, man perverts these channels to the drink- ing in of all the influences of creation, with a view to sus- tain, enrich, and enlarge the false life, which the soul has without God. He has rejected the power, to which they ought to be subservient. Unable to keep them in har- mony, by his evil spirit, he engages them in the service of the created things, after the enjoyment of which, self thirsteth, and thus, unawares, he himself, and his rebellious spirit, fall under the bondage of the things that were made. Hence the appearance of a peculiar purpose, to every faculty of man's nature, which is owing to nothing but this inversion of the original order. According to God's intention, the whole creation would have ministered to the divine life in man, through the faculties of man, these being in subservience to the divine life ; but, by the fall, it came to pass, that the faculties of man are the slaves of creation, and man himself the slave of his faculties, and, through them, of every created thing. The task which education has to perform, in this state of things, is again obvious. Education has, avowedly, for its object, to give employment to the different faculties of the soul ; to direct their action, and furnish materials for their exercise : whence it follows, that these materials must be of such a nature, and must be presented in such a manner, as to offer no nutriment to the spirit of self ; — but that, by the choice of the objects of instruction, as well as by the method adopted in conveying it, the faculties are to be turned back, as it were, upon that indwelling centre of harmony, from which they are turned away, and devoted again to their original purpose. Nothing can be more sublime, or more edifying, because nothing more illustrative of the wisdom and goodness of God, than the view of the mental and moral organization MAN NOT MADE FOR THE EARTH. 91 of man, when seen in this light. From the lowest stage of perception, when fixed upon individual facts, to the highest degree of illumination, when apprehending the universal, omnipresent, and ever-living spirit, there is a regular, well connected progress of intellectual and spiritual life. The same order, the same harmony, which we admire in God's creation, as far as it is opened to our view, prevail in the mind of man, when properly regulated. The lower things are ministering to things that are higher, and all are prostrated before the One, whose glories are unspeak- able. To behold this divine spectacle, and , still more, to act in the spirit of it, we must forget every purpose under the sun ; — for " all the works that are done under the sun," are " vanity and vexation of spirit." And, because they are so, it is impossible, that any of the faculties of man's immortal soul, should have them for their object. That Avhich is imperishable, cannot be made for the sake of that which is perishable, for it is against nature, that is to say, against the order of things, as established by God, that any thing should outlive its purpose. What are the earthly ends which man proposes to him- self, such as the improvement of his domicile, the enjoy- ment of comforts, or the acquisition of wealth, large possessions, or an extensive acquaintance with nature — what are all those things which man can acquire, or possess, or enjoy on this earth ? What are they but vanity and vexa- tion of spirit ? Are they not all perishable ? Does not their lustre, in most instances, wear off even before the short-lived career of the deluded pilgrim is concluded ? And though they might continue, to the last moment of life, to afford gratification, and to retain a stimulating and exciting influence, what remains of them and of their influ- ence when the hand of death closes the scenes of this earth upon us, — when all its treasures must be abandoned, — and all its purposes are defeated by the failing of a breath ? Or, what are the social ends by which our existence is 92 ' THE EARTH MADE FOR MAN. SO much swallowed up — such as high station and a great name, power, and popularity, the silence of admiration, or the shout of approbation, or such as the protection of commerce, the encouragement of the fine and useful arts, the spread of knowledge, the enlargement of science, the -pursuits of various studies, the establishment and improve- ment of public institutions, the promotion of national pros- perity, and the increase of national grandeur and glory — what are they all but vanity and vexation of spirit ? Are they not all perishable ? Do they not leave in those who spend their lives in pursuit of them, the sting of a vacant existence ? Or, if the gratification of apparent and mo- mentary success, and the little vanity of handing down a great name to posterity, should keep up the delusion as long as the display lasts, what will become of all those notions of human grandeur, when brought to that standard, which eternity will apply to the things of time ? And what will remain of the loftiest structures of human ingenuity, when the heavens shall depart, as a scroll when it is rolled together, when mountains and islands will be moved out of their places ? Who, that considers these things in their true light, and estimates them according to their intrinsic value, can, for a moment, suppose that the human soul and its faculties, destined as they are for immortality, can be made for those inferior purposes ? Is it not evident, on the contrary, that all those things which keep man under bondage, are created for him ; that he, and the restoration of his being to the original likeness of his Maker, is the great purpose to which all the things of the earth, and all the relations of society ought to be subservient ? Is it not evident that they are nothing but a stage of exercise and of trial, to afford room for the expansion and in vigor ation of those faculties, which, by the fall, were contracted in selfishness, and lost their power, by alienation from their true life. And is it not evident, therefore, that the education of every individual, without exception, should have for its object, IN THIS ALL MEN EQUAL. 93 to render him conscious of that one and universal purpose, for which all his faculties were created, and to lead him to use them in subjection to that centre of harmony, that power of light and life, by which alone they can be rightly directed, as by it they were made ? Who is there, to whom an education different from this should be imparted ; or, who is there, that stands not in need of this education ? Who is there, whom society dare to pronounce incapable or unworthy of it ; or, how can any community of men deserve the name of a Christian community, unless it give to every one of its children this education, which concentrates the whole man in Christ ? How can it lay claim to any participation in the member- ship of Christ, and the love which he beareth to his church, unless, in the name, and through the power, of Christ, it fulfil, in its place and in its measure, the Father''s will, " that of all which he gave to be Christ's, and which he has confided to the guardianship of Christ's church, nothing be lost." 94 LECTUUE IV. How FAll IS THE EDUCATION OF A CHILD TO BE REGU- LATED ACCORDING TO HIS l^ATFRAL CAPACITIES, AXD HOW FAR MUST EXTER^IAL CIRCUMSTANCES BE PER- MITTED TO AFFECT IT ? The view which has been taken of the preceduig ques- tion must, as vou are easily aware, in a great measure, determine the answer to be given to the one now under consideration ; and I have, therefore, to request of you, that, in following my arguments through this lecture, you win bear in mind the leading points discussed in the last. This will be the more necessary, as a variety of topics, connected with the last question, have been reserved for the present lecture, in order to avoid repetition, which, owing to the affinity of the two questions, must otherwise inevita- bly have taken place. If we cast a short reviewing glance upon the opinions prevailing among the public, or advanced by diiFerent writers, on the subject now before us, we shall find, that they are all comprehended in two classes, utterly opposed to each other. The one contains all the modifications of that system, which has, at present, the upper hand in society, and according to wliich man's education is entirely PREVAILING VIEWS OF THIS SUBJECT. \jO dependent on the circumstances under which he is bom, admitting from this general rule but a few rare excep- tions, and these only, because the history of some of the most eminent and the most excellent men, is an insur- mountable obstacle to the universal application of the vulgar theory, that the distinctions of rank are connected with the intrinsic value of the individual. The other class, in which some of the most exalted minds have collected small crowds of discontented and clamorous followers, would level all the distinctions of society, and, in educa- tion, as in every thing else, would concoct a national porridge, of which all should partake in a perfectly equal measure. That neither of the two systems is correct, must become evident at the first attempt to put them in practice ; the former is too contracted, the latter too superficial to answer the demands of real life. Nevertheless, in spite of this experience, every one follows his own views, as far as circumstances, and a better feeling, unconsciously dwell- ing in his bosom, will permit him to do so ; for, happily for mankind, they succeed no better in carrying through their erroneous and perverse systems in perfect consistency, than they generally do in the endeavour to realize those great and sublime truths, which have descended from heaven to earth, in order to transform the earth into a heaven. This incapability of man, to make himself and his posterity a complete victim to the perversity of his own notions and purposes, although it may aiford some relief to those, who might otherwise despair at the view of so many exertions, which are making, from generation to generation, in a direction diametrically opposed to that in which God intends to lead our species, is not, however, a sufficient counterpoise to the effects of ignorance and preju- .dice in the eyes of him, who is not contented to see the frame of human society outwardly upheld, and, perhaps, improved, but who considers an increase of the intrinsic value of man, as the only object of civilization, and as the only test of its true progress. He must go deeper; he 96 MAN HAS NO RIGHT TO KNOWLEDGE. cannot rest satisfied with the conviction, that, by the inter- position of a merciful Providence, the gates of darkness are not permitted to prevail against man ; he must inquire into the origin of those errors, which, although checked in their effect upon society, yet produce results deplorable enough to rouse the attention of every friend of humanity. I have, on a former occasion, observed, that men would generally do better, in the examination of questions con- cerning the institutions and relations of society, to take for their guide the nature of their duties, than the nature of their rights. The same remark applies, in a very striking manner, to the question, how far the education of a child is to be regulated according to his natural capacities, and how far external circumstances should be permitted to affect it ? If we endeavour to bolve this question, on the ground commonly taken, by asking : How much is the child capable of knowing according to his natural capacities, and how much has he a right to know, according to the length of his father's purse ? — it is evident that we shall be involved in a host of inconsistencies and contradictions, of which it is not, perhaps, the worst, that while we acknow- ledge a measure given by God, in the natural capacities, we so far disregard this measure, that we would allow, nay, often, try, to enforce more, where the circumstances of the parent seem to us to call for " a higher education ;"" and, on the other hand, we invariably prohibit much of that, which God appears to have permitted, because, we say, it is be- yond the child's station in society. Out of this labyrinth there is no other way, than at once to dismiss the idea of any right to more or less knowledge, to more or less culti - vation of the mind, and to inquire into the nature and measure of the duty which devolves or may devolve on every individual. The first advantage to be derived from this basis of inquiry, for the solution of our present ques- tion, is, that the different gifts of Providence, would be weighed according to their intrinsic value, and not, as is the case in the common view of the subject, according to DUTY OF MAN TO ACQUIRE KNOWLEDGE. 97 their importance, in a worldly point of view, in the present condition of society. It would, then, be acknowledged, that the measure of talent, with which every individual is gifted, determines the measure of intellectual and moral exertion for which he is destined, — in the years of education, more exclu- sively for the development of his own mind, and in after life, likewise for the benefit, that is to say, the internal improve- ment, of his fellow creatures; and this measure of intellectual and moral exertion, would not be looked upon, as it now is too often, as a means of gratifying himself, and others, accordingly as he may, or may not, feel disposed ; but it would be considered, in its true light, as a sacred obli- gation, for the neglect, or imperfect discharge of which, the individual himself, as well as every one that has con- tributed to divert or prevent him from it, is highly responsible. If this be true, with reference to common talents, and capacities, how much more eminently will it prove true, when applied to genius. This heavenly gift, this incorporation, as it were, of the divine idea in the faculties of mau;, how little has it been understood, how profanely abused, in most cases, both by those to whom the gift was imparted, and by the multitude, for whose benefit it was given. Genius, whatever be the direction in which it manifests itself, whether in the- compositions of the pen- cil, or in the lofty regions of poetic thought, in the modu- lations of harmonious notes, or in the strains of sacred eloquence, is a manifestation of the divine mind ; it is, as it were, the breath of God, going over the creature, and imparting life to its works. It is not a meteor, cast upon the earth, at random, for the vain glory of its own splendour, or for the amazement of the spectator ; it is a light of God, imparted for a specific purpose, for the pur- pose of carrying on his work, in a peculiar manner, by peculiar means, according to the peculiar wants of the nation, and of the age in which the genius appears. The geniuses which have risen up, at different periods, in the history of mankind, fill the same place in the progress of 98 GENIUS AN ELECTION. human civilization, which is nothing else than the divine guidance of our species, veiled and hidden, as the prophets of old did in the history of the Jewish Church, which is the divine guidance of man, explained and revealed ; both are, in their appointed spheres, the privileged diviners, whose sight is illumined; the chosen instruments, whose hand is armed with the strength of the Lord. Hence, as the prophets rose up in the critical days of the Jewish his- tory, so have geniuses always risen up at those great epochs in human history, when, upon the dying stem of the past, a new life was ingrafted ; in every such spiritual revela- tion, some eminent genius has been instrumental ; nor was he suffered to stand solitary, but he was always sup- ported by the simultaneous influence of kindred minds upon the mass, although, perhaps, the connexion between them might not be outwardly perceptible, nay, they might even stand in apparent opposition to each other. As a gift of God, destined for the accomplishment of his pur- poses, genius partakes of the nature of election, and is sub- ject to its laws Thus, for instance, the popular feeling with regard to the strayings of men of genius, makes good, although in an abusive sense, the Apostle's word : " Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect ?" And, on the other hand, the effect which a lawless course of life in men of genius, produces, renders the parallel not only more true, more close, but also, for those that are so gifted, more awful. Take the history of any man of genius, and you will find, that the office for which he was called, was fulfilled by him, whether obedient or dis- obedient to his calling. The ideas which he is des- tined to make manifest to the world, of the promulgation of which, he may, if he choose to acknowledge his election, and to fulfil its duties, make himself the successful and blessed instrument, will, if he choose to strive against them, be made manifest upon him, as an exemplification of their truth. As the Jews, the elect witnesses of God for the truth of his revelation, rejected their election, at the moment, when they were called upon to fulfil its highest GENIUS AN ELECTION. 99 and most blessed duty, and yet, are obliged, by the very consequences of their disobedience, to bear the witness which was required of them : so, likewise, must a genius, by the wildest aberrations of his mind, by the grossest profanation of his calling, necessarily become a beacon of those very ideas, which, by a life of faith and love, he might have illustrated in all the radiancy of heavenly light. The purpose of God is fixed, and unalterable ; he, who is called to accomplish it, is free to turn it into a blessing, or into a curse, to himself ; but still, he must fulfil the will of Him, who knoweth the balancings of the clouds. When brought to this test, how profane does the vulgar notion appear, that genius is a sort of natural eminence, which entitles the possessor to a more extensive enjoyment of life, to the highest admiration of his fellow-creatures, and even to a sort of exemption from the common laws of morality ! What an awful light does this view throw upon the baneful consequences, which that vulgar notion, and its influence upon education, has entailed upon so many a man of genius, involving him in deep ruin, and making him a sign in his generation ! And how is all this to be accounted for ? Is it not, by that fatal, and still unexploded mistake, of asking, on every occasion — What rights does this insure to us ? — instead of inquiring, what are our duties .'' Therefore, as has been done, with a view to ascertain the relative duties of the family and of society, to provide for the education of their children, so, likewise, with reference to the present question, a new principle must be laid down. It must be acknowledged, in the first instance, as regards the natural capacities of the child, that, what- ever measure of them every individual is gifted with, it is the duty of those that educate him, to develop and cul- tivate them ; and, farther, that the degree, to which this is to be done, is not to be limited in any wise, considering that the immortal part of man is neither finite in itself, nor destined for a finite existence. H 2 100 REGARD TO CIRCUMSTANCES IN EDUCATION. It remains then, for us to inquire, in the second instance, how far external circumstances must be permitted to affect the cliild's education. On the same ground of duty the answer is very simple and very easy. The question is not . " This child is possessed of such and such means to buy enjoyment and gratification : what sort of enjoyment is then to be fixed upon, as the chief object to which his edu- cation shall be directed .?" — Or, in another case : " This child is not possessed of any, or only of very small means of buying enjoyment and gratification — Avhat mode of acquiring those means is, then, to be selected for him, and made the object of liis education .''"" But the question is : " This child will, in all human probability, be possessed of such or such an extent of means, vmder such and such cir- cumstances, — what education, then, must be given to him, in order to lead, and to enable him, to employ all those means for good purposes ? What must be done to preserve him from that great snare, into which the wealthy so often fall, to think too much of the outward means of doing good, and to depreciate, or, at' least, not sufficiently to appreciate those more important means, which God has appointed to man in his mental faculties, and in spiritual gifts ?'''' Or, if the individual be not possessed of outward means, " What education must he receive, in order to learn to dispense with the riches, or the power of this earth, and to pursue the laboiu*s of his calling, unimpeded by the shackles of an outwardly unfavourable position ?''"' These are the questions, which we must ask, to ascertain how far the education of children is to be affected by external cir- cumstances. Accordingly as, by the order of Providence, they do or do not possess outward means, they must be tauo-ht to turn them to account, for the fulfilment of their duty, or to dispense with them. He alone, who is so educated, is well educated for his circumstances, if they remain unchanged, and likewise well educated for a change of his circumstances, if Providence should so decree it. If the affluent man was made to feel. MAN HAS NO ABSOLUTE KIGHT TO POSSESS. 101 that he has no right to his possessions, but in proportion as he employs them for good purposes^ how free would he be from the wish of accumulating more and more, and how free from regret, if, in consequence of his exertions, or by some contingency, his means should be diminished. At the greatest losses he could no more feel hurt, than an agent in delivering up to his employer the sums which he adminis- tered for him, and which he never considered as his own ! And how powerfully would the general diffusion of such principles tend to restore that equilibrium in society, which is now entirely lost by the accumulation of immense means in the hands of a feAv, that know not how to use them, and the entire destitution of so many, who cannot find any way of acquiring even the little they want. If no man claimed, or endeavoured to acquire, one groat beyond what he stands immediately in need of, for the fulfilment, not of his imagi- nary, but of his real duties, how easy would it be for every man to acquire that much. If, by one magic stroke, this effect could be produced upon the minds of men, so that every one would give up, whatever he does not want for the accomplishment of some really good purpose, according to his peculiar calling, and according to the degree of his moral capacity to be an agent of good, what immense treasures would then, in one instant, become " res nul- lius.'" It would then become evident, that mankind, in general, have thrown their power far too much upon the acquisition or the preparation of objects of enjoyment ; and the surplus, which would be found in the aggregate result of their labours for these purposes, would sufficiently account for the fearful neglect of their moral and religious cultivation. The measure, in which that disproportion exists, in every nation, would bring to light, what now is enveloped in comparative darkness, viz. how far it has walked in the path of the Lord, pursuing the true course of human culture, or how far it has departed from the right way, and, in bondage to the spirit of this world, has worked out a false and morally ruinous civilization. These 102 NATIONAL TENDENCY FOR WEALTH. remarks may appear to some to be foreign to the present purpose ; but I would beg to remind them, that it is of the highest importance, that the subject of education should not only be viewed with reference to the individual who is to be educated, but likewise in a national point of view, in- asmuch as it is the whole nation upon whom the duty of education devolves, and as the state of the nation, its im- provement, or its ruin, depends, in a great measure, upon the education which it imparts. On the other hand, it is clear, that, whatever spirit the nation is possessed of, that spirit will be communicated to the rising generations ; and if it be an evil spirit, will, in course of time, bring ruin and destruction upon the whole nation ; unless, indeed, it be arrested in its course by a warning voice, and led to repent and to retrace its steps. Thus if it should be found, that, in this nation, there is a tendency for the immoderate acquisition of wealth, irrespectively of any duty, for the fulfilment of which that wealth is required, but upon the assumption of a general right to acquire, to accumulate, and to enjoy : is it not evident, that this false tendency will be implanted in every individual brought up in the nation ; and is it not, if such be the case, high time that inquiry should be made, what manner of spirit it is, which the nation thus instils in the bosom of its rising members .'' I need not be at any trouble to prove that such a false ten- dency actually exists ; it is a fact, not only admitted on all hands, but even boasted of by many ; nor does it seem neces- sary, after all that has been said, to enter into a long argu- ment, in order to prove that it is an unchristian tendency,one which has its root in social principles of pagan origin, and its support in the corruption, the innate selfishness, of the human heart. Supposing this to be admitted, I shall now proceed to the inquiry, what are the distinctions to be made in education, upon the principle, that every indivi- dual is to be taught all that he has a duty to learn, and nothing ivhich he has not a duty to learn, according to the measure and peculiar character of his natural capacity, as REGARD TO THE MENTAL FACULTIES. 103 well as to the outward means of action, of which he is, or will be possessed. In the first instance, it is to be observed, that the faculties of the human mind are, in kind, common to all men, that is to say, that, in all men, the same facul- ties of the soul are to be found, although, in every man, in different degrees of power, and, consequently, differently combined. This being the case, and all the faculties being destined to work together, under the in- fluence of one central power of life and harmony, it is evident, that no distinction ought to be made respecting the cultivation of some faculties in some, and of other faculties in other individuals, but that in every individual, whatever be his capacities or his station, all the faculties ought to be brought into play. But as the faculties do not exist in all individuals, in the same degrees of power, it is evident, that education ought to pay regard to this difference, and that, therefore, according to the natural capacities of every individual, or to the degree of power, in which he is possessed of each faculty, a distinction should be made, as regards the degree of cultivation, which dif- ferent individuals ought to receive in different respects. Hence it follows, not only, that different individuals must be differently instructed, but also, that, in one and the same individual, different degrees of care and attention must be bestowed upon different faculties. In this, we ought entirely to fallow the indications of nature, and never to attempt making any individual unlike what he is intended to be. The present plan is, to appoint a general measure of cultivation for all, and to endeavoiu", as much as possible, to bring every individual to that measure ; as if there was a common standard of human mind, to which, as a pattern of perfection, all should be made to approach as near as possible. This is, however, as senseless a proceed- ing, as if a gardener were to attempt to train all his apple- trees, of whatever sort they be, into one particular sort, instead of cultivating every one " after its kind," to the 104 REGARD TO THE FUTURE SPHERE OF ACTION. highest degree of perfection, of which it is capable. In the same manner, as such a proceeding, on the part of the gardener, would spoil all the different sorts, except the one he has fixed upon, so, likewise, our education must de- cidedly ruin the different sorts of minds, in proportion as they differ from the universal standard, which we have arbitrarily set up ; even if it were, as it is not, a perfect one : whereas, on the contrary, if we paid regard to the measure, and peculiar combination of the faculties of every individual, we should see a far greater number of original minds, and, in general, a higher degree of capacity, than is now observable. Next to this distinction, founded upon the psychical organization of the individual, there is another necessary, according to the external circumstances in which he is, and probably Avill be placed. This distinction, it is plain, can have nothing to do with the degree to which each faculty is to be cultivated, as this depends on the inherent power of the faculty. We must, therefore, inquire, what relation, generally, our external position bears to our mind ; and we shall find, that the station in which we are placed, whatever it be, is the sphere in which the mind is exercised. Our outward circumstances are not, nor should they ever be, considered as any more than the scope of action appointed to us by Providence. Thus, for instance, the engagements of an agriculturist present altogether a different sphere of life, although, perhaps, for the exercise of the very same faculties, from those of an artisan, or of a manufacturer. The contact which a gardener has with nature, is very different from that of a sailor, or of an astronomer ; and yet the same faculties are called into action in every one. That to these differences some attention should be paid, and adequate distinctions introduced, is unquestionable; but it ought to be done subsequently and subordinately to the distinction founded upon the difference of power in the different faculties, from reasons, into which I forbear entering here, as this subject will again come under consi- WHAT DISTINCTIONS OUGHT TO OBTAIN. 105 deration. For the present, I will sum up the result of what has been said, in the following manner : — 1st. — The different faculties, which constitute man's mind, call for corresponding branches of instruction, as the means of developing and cultivating those faculties ; and as the latter are essentially the same in all individuals, it follows, that the chief branches of instruction should be common to the education of all. 2d. — The degree of power in which each faculty is to be met with in every individual, determines the degree of cultivation which it ought to receive, comparatively to other faculties ; and as the former varies in different indi- viduals, and with reference to different faculties, so must the latter. 3d. — The station in society in which the individual is placed, determines the sphere in which his faculties will have to act, and, therefore, the department of each branch of knowledge, which is to be appropriated to their culti- vation, and which must vary, for different individuals, ac- cording to their different stations. Thus, then, all men are to be instructed essentially in the same branches of knowledge, but in different degrees, and in different directions. Having so far ascertained, where distinctions ought to be made, and where not, it will now be necessary that I should proceed to a short sketch of the human faculties, in order to ascertain what cultivation they require. In my last lecture, I have called your attention to the impor- tant distinction, which is to be made between the faculties themselves, and the two agents by which they are im- pelled to action, the one the good spirit of God, and the other the evil spirit of man ; and I shall now have to in- troduce another distinction between different sorts of facul- ties, according to the different provinces of life to which they are appropriated. In this respect, they are to be divided into three great classes, viz. : — 106 CLASSIFICATION OF THE FACULTIES. 1. — Faculties appertaining to our existence, as physical beings. 2. — Faculties appertaining to our existence, as human beings. 3. — Faculties appertaining to our existence, in and with God. Through the first class of faculties we are made subject to what is called physical necessity ; that is to say, the absolute manifestation of the law and power of God in nature. They are the first, whose activity becomes mani- fest in childhood ; for, although the simultaneous but latent working of the others, is constantly attested by experience, yet a decided predominance of life is observed in the former. Through them the infant is first brought into contact with the Divine will, and subjected to the influence of its opera- tions ; the necessity which pervades those operations on one hand, and the helpless and unconscious condition of the child on the other, co-operate to produce, at the dawn of life, a state of submission. The rebellious soul then first learns, that it is unable to perform, or to obtain, all that it willeth and wishes ; from its natural state of absolute lawlessness, it is, in some degree, brought into subjection to law, and prepared for the period, when another law will be set before it, with freedom to obey, or to disobey. As the first preparatory step to the subduing of self-will in the soul, the intercourse of the child with nature, and with every other influence that reaches him through his senses, is of the greatest importance, and ought to be carefully culti- vated, with a view to render it conducive to that purpose. Unfortunately, however, we disturb that intercourse, in- stead of facilitating it ; we interfere between the child and nature, instead of contenting ourselves to direct the move- ments of the former. We have not learned for ourselves to view nature as a rich source, not only of instruction for the intellect, but also of moral discipline ; we look upon it as a field of gratification and enjoyment for ourselves, and PHYSICAL AND MORAL EDUCATION CONNECTED. 107 we do all in our power to put our children into the same false position, and to nurture in them the same false spirit. Thereby we render them slaves of their sensual nature, and, through it, of the outward world, instead of educating them to that dominion over the earth, for which man is intended. This dominion, which ought to be sought in subjection to the law of God, and with a view to the glory of God, is claimed in bondage to the law of self- will, and with a view to self-gratification. The relation in which man is to stand to one part of creation, is, from the beginning, deranged ; and, of course, as a proper direction of the child, in this relation, would have had a beneficial influence upon the development of other faculties, so the mismanagement of this first step of education has a pre- judicial effect upon the subsequent periods. Nothing can be more erroneous than the common notion of separating physical from intellectual and moral educa- tion, as if the former had for its object, only, the physical nature of the child. This is one of the consequences of that oversight of the original unity of purpose, on which I have enlarged in my last lecture. If that unity was apprehended, and the faculties were all cultivated in refe- rence to it, the physical education of the child would, as it ought to do, form the beginning of its intellectual and moral education. We should then watch, with solicitude, the first conscious movements of the child's eye and hand ; the first attempts at articulated sound ; we should study both, the spontaneous impulses of his self-activity, and the tendency manifested in the manner, in which he yields and attends to the impressions made upon him. Thus, to in- stance one of the many important considerations, which we ought to keep in view, we might ascertain the pro- portion, which spontaneity and receptivity, activity and passivity, bear to each other, in general, and in the exer- cise of each particular faculty ; and we might be enabled to judge, likewise, which of the two agents before men- tioned presides, at different times, over different operations. 108 FEELING AND INTELLECT. It is not SO difficult, as might be supposed by some, to dis- cover whether the child, when exerting his energies, is impel- led by the power of life, directing him to such objects, and such experiments, as will become to him a source of in- struction and discipline, and fill his soul with the heavenly satisfaction of having recognized, or expressed, something divine ; — or, whether he is swayed by the evil spirit of self, inciting him to an endless, and impassioned exercise of his powers, from which he can only derive the momen- tary gratification of having indulged a wanton caprice, and, as an immediate consequence of it, the dissatisfaction of internal restlessness. The same distinction is to be made, when the child is passive, lending itself, as it were, to the activity of others ; in one case, there is a look of calm de- light, or of anxious inquiry ; in the other case, the ex- pression of greedy desire. Another important point, for the knowledge of the human character, is, the proportion in which intellect and feeling are combined, in every indi- vidual, and by which the preponderance of some facul- ties over others is determined. For, whilst spontaneity and receptivity are inherent in every faculty, rendering it capable] of the two different, though sometimes simul- taneous, operations of giving and receiving, of pouring forth and imbibing : — the two other opposites, and, at the same time, correlatives, intellect and feeling, divide be- tween themselves, with a few exceptions, the whole range of the faculties, and, consequently, their opposition and co-operation is observable at the earliest period of infancy. The faculty for the perception of space, for instance, appertains to feeling ; whilst that for the apprehension of time, is an intellectual faculty. For the reception of all the impressions, conveyed through space, we have two faculties ; the one belonging to feeling, whose object is light, and its modifications, shade and colour ; the other, an in- tellectual one, appropriated to the conception, or, if spon- taneously exerted, to the creation of form and shape ; and, in the same manner, there are two faculties, corresponding IMPORTANCE OF THE FIRST DEVELOPJFEXT. 109 with the impressions received through time, — the one a faculty of feeling, for the reception or creation of sound, and the other an intellectual faculty, whose object is num- ber. The different degrees of intrinsic poAver, in which every individual is gifted with these and other faculties of the same order, the measure of activity or passivity, which is manifested through them, and the extent to which they are under the controul of the good or the evil agent in man, determine the character of that intricate being, called, the human mind, at the first stage of life, when the facul- ties, appertaining to man's existence as a physical being, have the principal share in the development of the inner man ; the faculties of the two remaining classes growing, at that period, as it were, under ground. That there are symptoms, by which we can ascertain those different facts, in every child ; that these symptoms are, every day, every hour, every moment, displayed before our eyes ; and that there is, in our own minds, a capability of apprehending and understanding them, who will deny ? That the know- ledge of them, and of the character, of which they bear witness, is the indispensable condition of our exerting a correct, and, therefore, a beneficial influence upon the child, at that period of life ; and that, upon that influence, and its effects, in the child's mind, the character and effi- ciency of our influ ence, at subsequent stages, entirely depends , who will' contradict ? How, then, is it to be accounted for, that, at a period when such interesting observations can be made, and so decisive an influence exercised, mothers should consider, and treat their infants, as little animals ; and fathers think them unworthy of their notice ? Is there any other evidence required, to convict us of that fearful moral indolence, with which we set aside the most im- portant facts, if they lie any deeper than the evidence of our senses, or the most superficial reflection can penetrate, and neglect the most important duties, if they are not urged upon us by the necessities of our earthly subsist- ence .'* The thousand vain and vexatious purposes, to 110 SECOND STAGE OF EDUCATION. which we have subjected ourselves, so entirely absorb our energies, that the most immediate objects of our care and attention are entirely forgotten ; and the mass of presump- tuous and superficial knowledge, with which we fill our heads, renders us so completely blind, that we have not a faculty left for the apprehension of truth, when presented to us in that divine simplicity, in which it is exhibited and illustrated in a little child. This indolence and blindness become, however, still more prejudicial to the cause of education, when the child reaches the next stage of his development, in which the faculties of the second class, or those which appertain to our existence, as human beings, come into full play. It is then, that man is, as it were, emancipated from the bon- dage of necessity, under which he was kept, as long as his life expanded itself chiefly upon the outward world ; a new sphere of life, for him a new world, is thrown open to his view, and affords ample scope for his activity. This world is no other, than that invisible and boundless world of thought and feeling, the existence of which, within us, is an incontrovertible evidence, both of the immateriality and the immortality of our soul. Heretofore he had tried his physical strength, in the struggle with physical power ; now he begins to ascertain the measure of his mind in the conflict with mental and moral powers, and advances or retreats, according to the feeling which he has of his own superiority, or of that of others. He takes and maintains, or changes, his posi- tion as a human being, in human society; he penetrates beyond the outward facts of nature, searching for their meaning, and for the spirit that lives and manifests itself in them ; his own mind, as well as the images of other minds, reflected in it, become an object of his attention, and he is thus introduced into an assembly of beings, who, although outwardly accessible to his senses, have an ex- istence independently of the outward, which, by the abstraction of his own thoughts and feelings from the MENTAL AND MORAT- FREKDOM. Ill connexion with sensible objects, he unconsciously acknow- ledges. In this new world there is no absolute necessity, to which he must willingly or unwillingly submit ; here all is freedom, all choice, all volition. He cannot help noticing the outward fact which strikes his senses, but he is free to observe, or to overlook, to recognize, or to set aside, the cause from which it proceeds. There is no room for scepticism, for caprice of intellect, in the ques- tion, whether or not twice two make four, whether the part is smaller or larger than the whole ; the experiment, as often as it is made, returns the same answer, because the world, in which it is made, is one of necessity, and extends the rule of this necessity over our faculties, when concerned in its investigation, so much so, that a madman only can evade it, and say, as I have actually heard a madman address me : "I see you. Sir, but I do not know that you are here ; I hear you speak, but I do not know that you speak ; I see that your coat is black, but I do not know what colour it is." The whole of man's intel- lectual and moral existence must be given up, a step which is not so easily taken, before he can oppose himself, in this manner, to the necessity of the impressions made upon his faculties by the outward world. Not so with reference to that world of thought and feeling, which is thrown open to him in the society of immortal beings, endowed with intellectual and moral faculties, and of which, he himself, as one of those beings, constitutes a part. The impressions which are made upon him by his fellow-creatures, are sub- ject to his interpretation ; the truth which is addressed to him, he may acknowledge, or he may treat it as nonsense ; his own notions, his own assertions, he is free to consider, now, as conformable to truth, and, then, as fallacious ; the motive from which his friend acts, may be believed in, as a motive of love, or suspected as a motive of selfishness and deceit ; and his own motives, no less, are liable to be called into question, even by himself, so that the same thing which he would have at once decreed to be dis- 112 LOGIC NOT A GUIDE TO TRUTH. honesty yesterday, he represents, nay, actually considers, as honesty to-day, and the action in which he would have gloried in the morning, has become to him in the evening an object of disgust, or of shame. The same is the case with reference to his mode of accounting for the spirit of those facts, which urge themselves with such necessity upon him in the outward world. The change of seasons may be a symptom of perishableness, or it may be an evidence, that this world has existed from eternity, and is destined to con- tinue in an everlasting circle of changes to eternity ; the .existence of the animal may have a purpose of its own, or it may be subject to some other purpose, as, for in- stance, the service of man ; — and many more hypotheses, of the same kind, which have actually been formed, or might be formed, in natural science — not to mention those causes in which, as in astronomy, owing to the limitation of our powers of inquiry, our knowledge of the facts themselves, rests, in a great measure, on hypothesis. Wherever we direct our steps, aloof from the ground of physical experiment, all becomes vague and uncertain. A thing may be so, or so, or so, or in a thousand other ways ; and this vagueness and uncertainty, so far from being conquered by the power of man's intellectual faculties, is, on the contrary, increasing in proportion to the degree of ingenuity, which is exerted to combat it. It is a great error to think, that the rules and formulas of logic can remedy this evil ; it is the error of the vulgar, who have never learned to think otherwise than at random, and who, therefore, whenever they think, are, as the German adage goes, " trying to Jix the pole in the blue mist ;''"' but those, who are practically conversant with the laws of thinking, who, with an acute penetration, combine a habit of mind strictly logical, they — and they alone are com- petent judges — well know, that no rule, no system of logic, ever can do away with the uncertainty, which atta;ches to man"'s knowledge in the sphere of invisible things. They know, that the much admired technicalities of looic are DELUSIVE TEXDENCY OF ITS FORMALIS.M. 113 no more than dead waxwork imitations of our living facul- ties, and that by them we are no more farthered on the road to knowledge, than a man, who found his legs useless, for want of ground to walk on, would be by the acquisition of a pair of stilts. In these stilts, however, our schools and universities deal by wholesale and retail, and by the time a youth gets upon ground, on which he might walk, his legs are ruined by the drudgery which they have undergone, in adjusting and readjusting those useless appendages. If this delusion were removed, how much argument, how much vain labour in the field of speculation, as well as in practical life, could be spared ! It is a sad spectacle to see men, whose opinions are at variance, endeavouring to convince and to convert each other by strains of logic, not perceiving, that, as long as the one continues to call blacky what the other calls white, or, as sometimes happens, red, what the other calls square, their ergos, built upon such premises, must only increase the distance between their opinions, the more correctly they reason. It is no improvement upon this proceeding, after having driven each other, from conclusion to conclusion, back to their premises, and discovered their contradiction in them, to begin the same game over again, by attempting to prove those premises on the ground of others, which they now assume, but which are equally contradictory, as those laid down before ; nor does it at all tend to bring them to a clearer understanding, that they agree, as sometimes hap- pens, upon calling one and the same thing "^reew," whilst perhaps the one connects with the word green, the idea of " hitter^'' and the other that of " so//'." The vanity and vexatiousness of their endeavours to arrive at truth, or to lead others to it, has sometimes struck my mind with such vivacity, as to make me think, that logic is a device of the devil, who, after having deceived mankind in the beginning, plays hide and seek with them, and has invented this scare- crow of truth, in order that he may lead them by the nose at his own pleasure, and, by engaging them in a vain search, I 114 METAPHYSICAL INQUIRIES UNPOPULAR. prevent them, for ever, from finding out their deceiver, or discovering the truth, from which he has caused them to stray. That something like this has been felt by others, is evident from the tendency, which is manifested, both in the religious, and in the not-religious world, to prohibit or condemn every inquiry into the things which are invisible, so that the latter would confine man to a knowledge of the facts of outward nature, misnamed natural philosophy, to which the former argue, that a knowledge of the letter of revelation, falsely termed religion, should be added. An appeal to the spirit, of which the sacred record testifies, is as unacceptable to the religious, as is, to the natural philo- sopher, any allusion to the living spirit of creation, of whom his facts testify ; and, although the one speaks of inspiration, and the other of the eternal laws of nature, yet it is evident, that these are mere dead words, with which they have traditionally learned to interweave their sen- tences, and of the meaning of which they are entirely igno- rant, and must remain so, as long as they persist in making the evidence of the senses, with reference to visible facts, or to the written word, the groundwork of their imaginary knowledge. I know that this proceeding has for its object, to avoid the snares into which both are conscious, that they are liable to fall, when pursuing those inquiries from which they abstain ; for although they denominate them diiffer- ently, and attribute them to different causes, they are both equally aware and equally afraid of them. So far, how- ever, from the enemy's purpose being defeated by their precaution, it is his greatest triumph to bring man thus to worship a brazen serpent; and never is his cunning more gratified, than if he be able to substitute, in the eyes of the blindfolded creature, the facts of nature, and the words of scripture, to that living God, to whom both nature and scripture are intended to lead us. Hard as these remarks may hit in many quarters, the truth of them will, I am convinced, be admitted by those, who are able to discern spiritual things. But though I THEIR VAGUENESS ACCOUNTED JOll. 115 were entirely unsupported in them by the assent of others, yet I should feel it my duty to make them, because the mistakes, against which they are directed, cut at the very root of all improvement, by leading to systematic self- deception. For although we may, in matters of speculation, by great contrivance, arrive at a very consistent exclusion of all that is not visible fact, or written letter, it is not pos- sible for us to carry the same system through, in life and practice. Even if there was not, as there actually is, in us, an ever-working poAver, which, as it is life itself, will not suffer us to stop at the dead fact, or the dead letter, but stimulates us, although, perhaps, unknown to us, to pene- trate deeper — even, I say, if there was no such power ope- rating in us, the very circumstances of daily life absolutely demand that we should act — and as certain as it is, that we are compelled to act, so certain is it, that we cannot act upon mere facts, or by the mere letter, but that we must act in some spirit or other, which, wherever the true spirit is not anxiously sought for, will ahvays be a false spirit. Hence it is, that whenever man is betrayed by his weakness, into the worship of some dead idol, be it one of science, or one of creed, his active services are sure to be engaged in the cause of Satan ; for with reference to the true and living God alone, worship and service are insepa- rably united. This being the case, it is of the last importance, that we should ascertain the cause of that dangerous freedom, which attaches to the exercise of our moral and intellectual faculties, in the sphere of invisible things, and of the vagueness and uncertainty, in which our knowledge of that sphere is involved. As long as we labour under the mistake, adverted to on a former occasion, the mistake, I mean, of attributing to our faculties an innate power, and an independent action, the facts mentioned will remain en- veloped in unfathomable mystery ; but if we acknowledge the distinction above made, between the faculties them- selves, and the agents, by which they are impelled, the I 2 116 DUALISM IN OUB FEELINGS AND IDEAS. problem is easily solved. It is evident, that, when our faculties are swayed by that evil spirit, which constitutes the corruption of our nature, the image, which our own being presents to us, as well as the reflection, which it gives of other beings, and of the whole world, must be very different from what they are, when our faculties are under the direction of the divine power of life and love ; it is evident, that our faculties, when attempting to distin- guish mental and moral objects in the darkness of our alie- nation from God, must receive a very different impression, than when they contemplate those objects in the light of the divine presence, and when they are themselves filled with the rays of that light. Now, as no man, though regenerated by the reception of this light as the life and ruling principle of his soul, is at once made so perfect, that the evil power does not, now and then, bias the ex- ercise of his faculties, so is there none to be found, so absolutely obdurate, that the good power does not, from time to time, produce a re-action against the habitual mode of feeling and of thinking. This accounts for that strange inconsistency, which attaches to the conduct of all men, and which, in by far the greatest number, produces, within the short space of a day, as many changes of the moral state, as there are changes in the weather, during the course of a whole year. It throws light also on the uncertainty of men''s opinions on almost every subject. The pertinacity with which they stick to them, and the intolerance with which they defend them, so fer from being the consequence of internal con- viction, are, on the contrary, marks of that uncertainty, which, the greater it is, the more we are anxious to dis- guise from ourselves and others, and which arises from the conflict of opposite powers in our soul. Every result of the exercise of our faculties, whilst under the influ- ence of the evil power within us, must, in the nature of things, be vague and uncertain : inasmuch as that power, being false in itself, cannot lead to truth ; as upon a foun- THEIK INCONSISTEKCY AND UNCERTAINTY. 117 dation, which has no reality in itself, nothing real can be built ; and as he, whose element is darkness, cannot impart to anything the evidence of light. Whilst in this manner all our thinking and feeling, under that evil influence, is necessarily uncertain, there are causes, which tend to inva- lidate the certainty, naturally inherent in those results of our intellectual and moral life, which are produced by the agency of the divine power upon our faculties. The sub- mission of our soul to that power, involves submission to a second necessity, which is not physical, but spiritual, the necessity of the perfect and holy will of God. This ne- cessity is not one, under which we are naturally and in- evitably placed, it is one, to which we are called upon to submit ourselves with freedom ; inasmuch as it is per- fect freedom in itself. But the spirit of self in us, loves that false freedom, in which it rules us, better than the true freedom, in which God ruleth, and, therefore, con- stantly revolts against the idea of perfect submission to that spiritual necessity. Moreover, that divine power of life, in which freedom and necessity are thus blended to holiness and perfection, is, at the same time, a light, before which, whatever is evil, cannot stand, but turns away from it, and strives against it.* The consequence of this is, that there is always lurking in the recesses of the heart, a tendency to re-action against that good and perfect power, tempting us to call its authority, nay, its reality, into • " This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither coineth to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." This throws great light upon the necessity of an all- satisfactory atonement, for the perfect redemption and restoration of man, at least as far as the state of the creature is concerned, which, without atonement, could never feel in perfect union with God. The importance of this side of the question concerning the necessity of the atonement, is, I fear, not sufficiently acknowledged; or, if it were, it seems that we might dispense with some high doctrinal discussions, which have been ventured upon, respecting the necessity of the atonement on the part of God, and which, in my opinion, are to be ranked among the most presumptuous inquiries, into which religious con- ceit has betrayed weak and mortal man. 118 EXAMINATION OF OUll FACULTIES RESUMED. question, and to throw off its yoke, or, if possible, the very thought of its existence. But, whatever tends to shake the authority of that power itself, must, of necessity, produce the same effect upon all that we have derived from that power, as the validity of our ideas rests en- tirely upon the authority of their source ; so that, in pro- portion to the prevalence of such a tendency to re-action, a constant unsettling takes place in our faculties, throw- ing suspicion upon that, which we received with certainty. The combined effect of the uncertainty, which naturally attaches to one part of our thoughts and feelings, and of the artificial vmcertainty, which we thus throw upon such as are naturally certain, is that vagueness, and want of conviction, in which most men are so enveloped, that they flee in distress to the mock-evidence of logic, or, in despair, give up every thing but facts and letter. After having dwelt so long upon this point, which I thought necessary, because upon its full elucidation, the whole value of our remaining knowledge of the human mind for practical purposes entirely depends, I shall con- tent myself with adding, that the same division between intellectual faculties, and faculties of feeling, which was illustrated with reference to the first class, pervades the one now under consideration. Thus, for instance, we have two faculties of fellowship as it were, with our equals, whom we acknowledge, in the correspondence of their thoughts and feelings with ours. The first of these faculties is one of fellow feeling, or sympathy, through which we communicate with others, in benevolence and affection, whilst the other is an intellectual faculty, a sort of fellow-judgment, which enables us to concur in the thoughts and ideas of others, as well as to call for their concurrence in ours. There is another pair of faculties, through which we explore, as it were, the things which are new to us, in the world of thought and feeling, and on the other hand convey to others, what is not yet a matter of common consent between them and DIVINE PllESKNCii IN THE SOUL. 119 ourselves. The intellectual faculty devoted to this use is essentially the faculty of association, by which we connect a new idea, which strikes us, with one familiar to our mind, and thereby endeavour to possess ourselves of the former, or, if we communicate a new idea to others, seek for a point of connexion, by which we may introduce it into their minds. The corresponding faculty of feeling, on the contrary, is individualizing and intuitive. It con- centrates itself, as in one focus, upon the object of its in- vestigation or communication, and receives or represents it, as a matter of immediate intuition, or mental perception, without analysis, without comparison, without reference to any thing else, as it were, by one stroke. It is the pre- dominance of this faculty in the female sex, which renders woman so much more quick-sighted concerning the cha- racter of those with whom she comes into contact ; and the close connection which it has with the essence of poetry, is the reason why a poetic tinge attaches, almost invariably, to the female character. In the same manner do all the other faculties of the second class — with the excep- tion of those, which belong not so much to our inward life, as to the communication of it in the outward world — exist in pairs, the one being a faculty of feeling, and the other of intellect. The simultaneous and harmonious development of both these branches, and of the different faculties be- longing to each, decides upon the moral character of man, which, to be well balanced, requires the judgment of feel- ing, as well as that of the understanding. So far, but no farther, can mans development be carried, without con- sciousness of the indwelling, the nature and operations of that light which " lighteth every man that cometh into the world" — and without whom, as "not any thing was made," so not any thing can be understood, of all things that were made. It is by the operation, I repeat it, the unconscious and unknown operation of that light upon the faculties of the two first classes, that the heathen were enabled to investigate nature, to discover principles, and to establish 120 MADE MANIFEST THROUGH JESUS CHRIST. sciences ; and it was by this, that they were enabled to come, from a state of brutal hostility, into a state of civi- lization ; to cultivate the arts of life ; to frame laws and institutions ; to inquire into the nature, the origin, and destination of the soul ; to set up a standard of virtue, and to ascertain the moral duties between man and man. But they were not purely submitted to the influence of that light, nor were they governed by it exclusively ; the spirit of rebellion influenced the development of their individual and national life, and the results which they obtained, were attributed by them, not to a divine power distinct from themselves, though dwelling within them, but to their own talents and capacities. Nevertheless, some indications of consciousness of a divine presence in the human heart, such as the ^aijuwv of Socrates, broke in upon them in the course of their inquiries, and prepared them for the conception of that great purpose of God, which was to be realized in fulness and glory in the person of Jesus Christ, viz., the divini%ation of man, through the humanization of the Deity. The historical existence of that fact, and, connected with it, that infinite mass of spiritual informa- tion, which the New Testament contains, was necessary, to lead man to a full consciousness of the source, from which he had already derived so much light, so much assistance ; and, in that consciousness, to call into full action the faculties of the third and highest order, viz. those which appertain to his existence in and with God. Thus, then, the superiority of christian education, over that which the pagan world gave, consists, not only in the knowledge of God, and our position to him, with which revelation has made us acquainted, and of which the heathen were entirely destitute, but in the light which has been thrown, by that knowledge, upon the whole con- stitution of human nature, and upon its different opera- tions. It is not merely by the addition of a branch of in- struction, called the knowledge of the christian religion, that education has been enriched, but, by the distinct THE FACULTIES AXD THEIR OBJECTS. 121 information which we have received, concerning the nature of our task ; so that, whilst the heathen knew not, by whose power they learned, nor in whose name they taught, we, on the contrary, know, or at least, ought to know, since the means of knowledge are placed in our hands, in whose name, and by whose power alone, all education and instruc- tion ought to be carried on. How deeply is it, then, to be deplored, that still the greatest part of our education should be imparted in our own name, or in the name of science, and that the little, which is given in the name of God and his Christ, should be given in his name only, and not in his power. In the preceding sketch of the human faculties, I have drawn your attention to the main parts, rather than to the details, as the latter would far exceed the compass Avhich I am obliged to prescribe to myself, and I have merely men- tioned the third order of faculties, without offering any remark on them here, as my last lecture will be exclusively appropriated to that subject. Nor do 1 think it necessary, in the present lecture, to enumerate the different branches of instruction, as they will come under consideration again in the discussion of the two following questions, and I will therefore only beg leave, in conclusion, to say a few words regarding the connection, in which the different faculties stand with the visible as well as the invisible world. I have sho\vn that they are all destined for one purpose, for the attainment of which they are to be concentrated upon the divine light and life, and developed in subserviency to it ; and it remains now for us to see, what relation they bear to the objects of their activity, which are, erroneously enough, generally mistaken for the purposes of their exis- tence. It has been repeated, often enough to be called a truism, that man is a compound being, and still it may be very excusable to repeat it once more, for thel purpose of fixing a meaning upon a term, used so habitually without a meaning. The composition of the different beings, and the ground on which their communication with each other 122 THEIR KELATIOX TO EACH OTHKK. rests, is enveloped in tlie deepest mystery ; it is that which is most carefully veiled from the profane eye of curiosity or selfishness, that which a matter-of-fact philosophy will never discover. Nevertheless, the knowledge of it, if attained, would be of immense interest; as well as practical utilitv ; for although we have the maxim on our books, " natiirce convenienter I'ivere,'''' Ave cannot yet form even a correct idea, what it is to live agreeably to nature, because we are ignorant of the nature of each being, and of the ground of its connexion Avith others, as founded in its nature. This knowledge I do not think it impossible, nor even very difficult to attain, provided we do not seek our principles in the facts which we observe, but lay them down a priori, which in all, even in the most experimental sciences, is the only way to arrive at real results ; and which has been done in all ages by those, who took the lead in any branch of knowledge, although the ignorant multitude, who can see nothing but facts, always attributed to chance, or to the effect of repeated experiments, those great disco- veries, on which all that is valuable in human science rests, and which are the work, not of human sagacity, but of a sort of inspiration. INIuch as it may excite the derision of experimental philosophers, or the bigotry of mere creed believers, I repeat it again, as a truth Avhich, it is important, should be known, as one involved in the revelation which we have of God through Christ, that in no science Avhatever we can know anything of the nature of things, — beyond their outward appearance, and their external phenomena — unless w-e proceed upon principles received, as a matter of faith, a priori, and laid down with the most absolute reliance on their reality. If you ask, where those prin- ciples are to be found, the answer is, within your own minds, at the source of all knowledge, which dwells in you, and will enlighten you, if you will but turn to it in faith. From the same source, from which all knowledge on religious subjects is derived, ought we likewise to receive the prin- NOT TO BE UNDERSTOOD WITHOUT FAITH. 123 ciples of all other knowledge ;* but in the latter, as in the former case, it requires faith, without which there is * I cannot deny myself the satisfaction of quoting the following verses, from the eighth chapter of Proverbs, which is so beautiful an illustration of the be- ginning of St. John's Gospel : " / tvisdom dwell with prudence, and Jind out " knowledge of witty inventions WTien he prepared the heavens, I was " there : when he set a compass upon the face of the depth : when he established " the clouds above : when he strengthened the fountains of the deep : when " he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his command- " ment, when he appointed the foundations of the earth : Then I was by " him, as one brought up with him, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing " always before him : rejoicing in the habitable parts of his earth, and my " delights were with the sons of men. Now, therefore, hearken unto me, O "ye children !" Can there be a plainer declaration of the sublime truth, that the universal and everla-sting spirit of God, who knoweth the heavens and the compass of the depth, the clouds above and the fountains of the deep, the sea and the foundations of the earth, finds his delight in communicating to the sons of men his wisdom and knowledge ; and that it is by his light only, that men are enabled to find out knowledge of witty inventions ? But the mean- ness of our feelings, and the narrowness of our minds, wiU not permit us to take that enlarged view of revelation, which would cause as to see God in all things, although we keep it on record, as a dead creed, that he is " all and in all." Of the most express declarations, such as those in the above passage, we get rid, by declaring them " figures of speech." Let it be remembered, however, that although men may deprive themselves and others of the benefit of God's revelation, by restricting its import, this can only affect them, but not the meaning of a divine declaration, which remains unalterable for ever. Let it be remembered also, that he who takes the lead in such presumptuous li- mitations of the divine truth, incurs a hea%7 responsibility. " Woe unto the world because of offences ;" and woe unto the religious world, if the offence come by them. Woe unto those who, by precluding science from the fountain of reli- gion, have driven the scientific world away from religion, and prevented science from becoming conformable to the wisdom of God. The error, however, lies not with the religious world only ; (although it is in them more unpardonable, because they ought to have better knowledge ;) the arrogance of human reason, and the conceit of an extensive knowledge of facts, of which the spirit is unknown, has as great a share in the unfortunate separation, nay division, which at pre- sent obtains bet\veen religion and science, as the narrowmindedness of the religious world. For the benefit of those whom this paltry collection of frag- ments from the life of the universe— for such are all our natural sciences in their present condition — puffs up so beyond measure, I will extract here (as they might not, perhaps, meet with it elsewhere) part of that sublime passage in the book of Job, in which God asks, " ^^Tio is this that darkeneth counsel " by words without knowledge ? Gird up now thy loins like a man, for / " win demand of thee, and answer thou me ! Where wast thou when I laid 124 FAITH THE EXPOSITOR OF FACTS. absolute darkness, where those, that have faith, perceive the clearest light. The words of wisdom " are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find know- ledge."" So, in particular reference to the subject of our present inquiry, the most extensive observations which man is enabled to make within the limited sphere of his exis- tence, cannot lead him to a clear insight into the nature of different beings, and of their relation to, and communica- ' the foundations of the earth ? Declare, if thou hast understanding. Who " hath laid the measures thereof if thou knowest ? or, who hath stretched the " line upon it ? Whereupoji are the foundations thereof fastened ? or who " laid the cornerstone thereof ; when the morninff stars sang together, and all " the sons of God shouted for joy ? Or, who shut up the sea with doors, " when it brake forth as if it had issued out of the womb ? When I made " the clouds the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it, " and brake up my decreed place, and set bars and doors, saying, Hitherto *' shall thou come, but no further ! and here shall thy proud waves be " stayed / . . . . Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea ; or hast thou " walked in the search of the depth ? Have the gates of death been opened " imto thee ? or hast thou seen the door of the shadow of death ? Hast thou *' perceived the breadth of the earth ? Declare if thou knowest it all ! " Where is the way where light dwelleth 9 and as for darkness, where is the ^^ place thereof, that thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou *' shouldest know the paths to the house thereof ? Knowest thou it because *' thou wast then born ? or because the number of thy days is great 9 Hast " thou entered into the treasures of the snow ? or hast thou seen the treasures " of the hail, which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the *' day of battle and war ? By what way is the light parted, which scattereth " the east wind upon the earth ? What hath divided a watercourse for the " overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder to cause it to "rain on the earth, where no man is, on the wilderness where there is no " man ; to satisfy the desolate and waste ground, and to cause the bud of the *' tender herb to spring forth ? Hath the rain a father, or who hath begot- " ten the drops of dew ? Out of whose womb came the ice ? and the " hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it ? The waters are hid as with a " stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. Canst thou bind the sweet in- ^^fluences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion ? Canst thou bring forth " Mazzaroth in his season ? or canst thon, guide Arcturus with his sons 9 " Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven ? canst thou set the dominion thereof *' in the earth ? Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds that abundance of *' waters may cover thee ? Canst thou send lightnings that they may go, and *' say unto thee. Here we are ? Who hath put vitisdom in the ix- " WARD PARTS? OR WHO HATH GIVEN UNDERSTANDING TO THE *' HEART ?" Answer this, if you can, ye Lawrences ! ye men of steam and gas, ye dissectors and skull casters ! CORRESPONDING ELEMENTS OF THINGS. 125 tion with, each other ; unless he be guided in his search by the principle, which no fact and no experiment can teach him, the principle, that every being is composed of a certain number of different elements, the nature of which deter- mines the sorts of beings with whom he is capable of hold- ing communication, and their number, the extent to which he is capable of intercourse with creation. On this simple principle, the chymical affinity of unorganic bodies rests, as well as the attraction and repulsion wliich takes place in the moral world. One is the image of the other, but they are both effects of the same universal law. Suppose, for illustration's sake, any being, or thing, to be composed of four elements. A, B, C, and T> ; this being, or thing, will consequently be capable of intercourse with the world, in four different directions, that is to say, with all the beings, in whom any one of those four elements exists, and with every being in as many ways, as there are corresponding elements in both ; so that if there be a being, A E F, another, B G N P, another, C D F M, another, A B C N O P, it is evident that the being, A B C D, can hold intercourse with the being A E F, in one direc- tion, through A, with B G N P, in one direction, through B, with C D F M, in two directions, through C and D, with A B C N OP, in three directions, through A, B, and C ; and, further, that intercourse can take place between A E F, and A B C N O P, through the element A ; between A E F, and C D F M, through the element F ; between B G N P, and A B C N O P, through the elements B N, and P ; between C D F M, and A B C N O P, through the element C. Moreover, although A B C D, be capable of intercourse, both with A E F, and with C D F M, yet it is entirely precluded from joining in the intercourse which the two latter can hold, through the element F, which does not enter into the composition of the being A B C D. The variety of directions, in which one being can communicate with •126 HOW TO BE DISCOVERED. another, is, however, not to be confomided with the inten- sity of their communication, which determines the intimacy of their relation, and which depends on the degree of power in which they axe both possessed of the same element. Thus, suppose A B C D to be possessed of the element B, in the power of 6, whilst the same element exists in the being B G N P, only in the power of 4, and in A B C N O P, in the power of 3, it is plain that the intensity of the intercourse between A B C D, and B G N P, through the element of B, can only be 4 ; between A B CD, and A B C N O P, 3 ; and 3, likewise, between A B G N O P, and B G N P ; so that A B ON O P, will be satisfied, or, as the chymist calls it, saturated, in both cases ; that B G N P, will be satisfied in its intercourse with A B C D, but not with A B C N O P ; and that A B C D, will not be able to satisfy itself in its intercourse with either of the two, but only with such beings as possess the element B, in the same degree of power as A B C D itself. What those elements are, of which all beings are com- posed, I do not pretend to say ; all I wish is, to call your attention to the fact, that there are certain elements or bases of all existence ; properties, according to the usual mode of expression, but, in reality, primitive substances, which never exist but in combination with each other, and which, by the different combinations and the different degrees of power in which they exist, produce that endless variety of beings which, both within and beyond the sphere of our knowledge, rejoice and declare the glory of God. If our minds were freed from all those classifications, founded upon outward symptoms, and all the other false notions, with which the present systems have filled our heads, and darkened our minds, by words without knowledge ; if we could see crea- tion with the eye of that ever-living Spirit, who combines those elements in the different individuals, and, by his power, holds them together as long as he pleases; who sets them into action according to his own pleasure, or abandons THEIR SIMPLICITY. 127 them for a time to the rule of the creature ; then, indeed, should we behold a spectacle, very different from those confused images, which our systems of natural and moral philosophy present. We should, then, clearly apprehend that important, but much slighted distinction between matter and spirit, between material and spiritual elements. We should then cease to attribute reason to the brute, or to explain the phenomena of immortal spirit by the texture of nervous fibres. And, as we should clearly discern those things, which are to be discerned, but which we now confound, so do I most firmly believe, that many things which we now distinguish, and con- sider as essentially different, would be found to rest ultimately on the same basis. For, although I have no facts to support me, except it were by analogy, yet I cannot withhold the statement of my conviction, that if we could penetrate so far into nature, both visible and invisible, as to discern the elements of which things are composed, we should find them but a very few in number ; inasmuch as many properties which are now, or, in the course of farther investigation, still may be, considered as elementary, are nothing but derivatives from the real elements of all things, but appear to us as elements, because we see them fre- quently occurring, and because we have never penetrated into their composition. This may, perhaps, be more fully illustrated, by a reference to the composition of number, concerning which I happen to have pursued these in- quiries farther into the details. All the numbers, which do not admit of being divided ^nthout fractions, or which have not other numbers for their factors, are, in arith- metic, comprehended under the appellation, prime num- bers — such as 1, 2, 3, 5, '], 11, 13, and so on. They are set apart as a sort of outlaws, so much so, that it is considered as a questionable point, whether they follow any rule, or law, at all. The other numbers, on the con- trary, are all taken together, in one lot, as they succeed each other when counted by units, on the decimal system. 128 EXEMPLIFIED IX THE NATURE OF NUMBER. This view of tliem having once become habitual to our minds, we employ them for our calculations, reduce them to their respective proportions, multiply and divide, add and subtract them, as the occasion may require ; and if we make any observations on them, it is, because thev happen to strike our eyes by frequent occurrence, and because we find the process of calculating facilitated by some of the rules discovered. But, at the same time, we remain in perfect ignorance respecting the natiu*e and chai'acter of different numbers, and the elements from which thev are derived ; as is evident, from the question being enter- tained, even among mathematicians, whether or not the numbers called prime numbers, are subject to any law. The fact is, however, that there are two classes of num- bers, organic ones, formed by multiplication, and unorganic ones, formed by addition and subtraction from the former ; to which must be added, as forming a third and subor- dinate class, mixed numbers, resulting from the multiplica- tion of oro-anic with unoro-anic ones. These three classes are, of course, subdivided into what might be called genera, and species, according to the elements of which they are composed, whether all similar or dissimilar, and, in the latter case, whether combined in equal, or unequal proportions, and in lower or liigher degrees of power. The variety displayed in them, the indefinite extent of their progress, and their almost countless proportions and rela- tions, when compared with the simple elements from which they ai'e derived, are truly astonishing. Thus, for instance, the combination of two different elements, in equal propor- tion, and in the power of 5, produces 32 compound ele- ments, or as they Avould commonly be termed, factors, and the total amount of different formations of the number produced by the two elements, in the proportion and power mentioned, is near to twenty-five thousand. The same multiplicity is to be met with iu every direction, and nothing but the variety and boundlessness of creation itself, can, in any way, be compared to the immensity of the field. ELEMENTS OF ALL NUMBER. 1-9 which is thrown open before the mind. Bat, although it is the very nature of number, that its extent can never be compassed, yet the elements from Avhich all number is derived, and the laws, which it follows, are extremely sim- ple. The numbers 2,3, and 5, with + 1 and — 1, is all that is required to investigate the nature, and calculate the pro- portions and relations of any number, whether organic or unorganic. The latter class comprehends all those num- bers, which are called prime numbers, except the above elements, and which, when viewed in their connexion with the system of numbers, to which they belong, assume a perfectly different aspect. The question, whether they follow any law or not t appears, then, as ridiculous as the question, whether there is a law in the division by two ; or whether it is by chance that 16, divided by 2, makes 8 .-' Even at first sight, a varietv of interestino; facts strike the mind, which, as they are followed up by investigation, lead to highly interesting results. Incomplete as my observa- tions have hitherto been, from the want of leisure to pursue the subject farther, they are sufficient to place it beyond all manner of doubt, that the unorganic numbers, of which the prime numbers form the most essential part, are a com- plete and separate system of numbers, governed by laws peculiar to itself, and relate to the organic numbers in a similar manner as the unorganic or mineral kingdom in nature, is to the vegetable kingdom. But, I must not in- dulge myself in the farther pursuit of a topic, which, although a favourite one with myself, may not be so with others, — and I shall merely recall your attention to the purpose for which 1 introduced it, viz., to account, by the way of analogy, for the conviction which I expressed, that the whole universe of creation, with all the variety of beings contained in it, rests, ultimately, upon a few simple elements. The discovery of them, would, of course, be an essential step onwards in knowledge, and have a very important influence upon all our sciences ; but, in none, perhaps, would it be of such practical value, as in education, K 130 ANALYSIS OF HUMAN NATURE. since a clear view of the correspondence of certain facul- ties with certain objects, would enable us, in a much greater degree than is now possible, to render our instruc- tion and discipline conformable to the wants of each indi- vidual. In the mean time, we must content ourselves to be directed by such observations, as the measure of our in- sight into human nature will permit us to make, and if we keep first principles steadily in view, we shall daily in- crease in clearness, as well as in extent of knowledge. It is interesting to see, how in the human body all the elements of earthly existence seem to be combined to- gether ; so, at least, we may conclude, from the fact, that in the economy of its organization, every inferior existence with its distinguishing character has found a place, accord- ing to the general law of nature, by which, at every higher step, the leading features of every lower step are repeated. Thus, the mechanic structure of unorganic bodies, and the coherence of their parts, in different directions, is repeated in the vegetable, by the texture of its fibres, whilst the principle of expansion, which is the principle of vegetable life, gives birth to a system of circulation ; both these are again repeated in the animal, in which there is — in addition to flesh and bones, which respond to the fibrous structure of the plant, and the arterial and venous systems, which respond to the circulation of the sap in the former — the nervous system as a vehicle of communication, by which partial sensations are referred to a central point, and through it to the whole being, and impulses are conveyed from that central point to any part. All this is repeated in man, with the addition of such organs, as render his body the fit abode, and willing instrument, of an immortal spirit, enabling it to render the material world, with which he is linked through those organs, subservient to a spiritual purpose, for which he is endowed with a capability of re- coffnizins: and uniting; himself with that imiversal life and light, through Avhich the Avhole world subsists. Thus, whilst his hand and foot respond to the earth, his organs ITS CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE UNIVERSE. 131 of taste and smell to fluid substances, his ear to the elas- ticity of the air, and his eye to the ray of light, his inner organs respond to the laws of time, and of space, of tone, and number, of colour and shapes ; through his senses he is capable of holding intercourse with the facts of nature ; through the immaterial organs of his soul, he is enabled to hold communion with the spirit, which breathes in those facts, and to unravel the laws of them ; and the inner organs of his brain, forming, as it were, the bridge between the world of spirit, and the world of sense, render him capable of the perception of those same laws as outwardly manifested, and, as it were, incarnate in the sensible world. Thus, as an earthly being, composed of earthly elements, he is linked with the earth ; by the different systems of his earthly organization, he is linked with the different parts of earthly creation ; by his spiritual organization he is capable of intercourse with created spirits — through the principle of sin in himself, he is accessible to intercourse with fallen spirits, and a life is imparted to him, by wliich he may hold communion with the Father of spirits, and with his holy angels. Such is man, indeed and in truth, a compound being ; a being full of contradiction and opposition, as he now is ; but a being, also, destined for perfect peace and harmony. How important, then, is the task of him, who undertakes to direct the successive unfolding of all the energies and faculties, of which this being is composed ! And how great is his responsibility ! And yet this task is, generally, of all the duties of life the most neglected, and by those, who undertake it, as a matter of trade, it is treated as the easiest of all trades I K 2 132 LECTURE V. WHAT ARE THE CHIEF OBSTACLES TO A MORE GENERAL EDUCATION OF THE POOR, AND WHAT ARE THE LEAD- ING ERRORS COMMITTED IN THIS GREATEST OF ALL CHARITIES AS FAR AS IT EXTENDS AT PRESENT ? After having, in my four preceding lectures, treated of the general principles, on which the duty of imparting education to our children rests, and by which the right mode of fulfilling that duty is determined, I shall now proceed, as far as time will permit, to make the applica- tion of what has been said, to the practical details of different departments of education; and in doing so, I shall take an opportunity of reviewing the means at present adopted for the education of the people in this country. In direct answer to the question, which will occupy our attention in this lecture, I would say, that there are two chief obstacles to a more general education of the poor ; the first, the depraved condition of the parents in the lower classes of society, and the second, the ignorance and nar- rowanindedness, which preside over our poor schools, both in teachers and managers. Which of the two is the more difficult to be conquered, I do not pretend to know ; I OBSTACLES TO IMPROVEMENT. 133 shall content myself with stating the facts as they are, not as they appear in public meetings, at public examinations, and in printed reports and prospectuses, but as they strike the mind of a person, unbiassed by the erroneous maxims of the present systems, when entering the school-rooms, and conversing with the children ; or when observing the chil- dren in the streets after school-hours. As regards the first obstacle I have mentioned, the depraved condition of the parents, it requires no proof, for it is in the mouths of all, that the lower orders of society are merged in a state of immorality, hardly to be imagined by those, who have not had an opportunity of making their own observations ; and to be accounted for, only by the want of intelligence, and the absence of religious feeling, on one hand, and the high point of civilization, which the country at large has attained, on the other. Improvement is not to be expected, as long as the present views of society remain the leading princi- ples of our individual and national existence ; for, if it must be admitted, that the poor are deeply depraved, it cannot be denied, that the more refined, but no less deep corruption of those, who appear and think themselves their betters, is one of the chief causes of the existence of the evil, as well as of its continuance. The man, who does not act from selfish motives, and for selfish ends, is as rare among the wealthy, as among the poor — so much so, that the bare possibility of a purely disinterested conduct, is generally denied. The selfish ends, which the wealthy man can attain in society, are many ; but a few of them only are accessible to the poor ; and even where he can attain the same enjoyment as the rich man, the quahty of the object, with which the poor must put up, is far inferior, and of course, renders his enjoyment grosser. It is not sufiiciently considered by those, who descant upon the corruption and immorality of the lower orders, that their more pri\dleged neighbours gratify essentially the same lusts and appetites, and indulge the same selfish 134 IMMORAtlTY OF THE LOWEE OUDEKS. feelings, as the former, with this diiference only, that they have the means of committing theit sins in a more sys- tematic and refined manner, and of concealing them better from the public view. What difference is there between a fashionable dinner-party, who, after having crammed themselves with the fat of the earth, imported for them from all the winds of the compass, sit till after liiidnight, drawing bottle after bottle, and varying the sort, to sti- mulate their palates ; whilst, at no more, perhaps, than fifty yards distance, a poor man is dying away under ex- haustion and want, to whom one dish from their table, or one glass of the wine, which they spill in revelling, might restore health and strength ; what difference, I ask, is there between a party of these fine gentlemen, and a party of drunken labourers, stumbling from public house to public house, to get " one more glass ?" Do you think, that, if the latter were offered the means of getting drunk in a gentlemanly manner, they Would refuse them ? Or what difference is there, between my lady, who spends three or four hours a day at her toilette, setting out her person to the best advantage, in order to enchant her gallant, or to lay at her feet scores of enraptured admirers, and the strange woman, who decks herself with her glittering trinkets, to try whom she may ensnare? They both feel the same, wish the same, and do the same, except that the former does it in a more lady-like way, than the latter can afford, and perhaps, that the former, not to offend against notions, sanctioned by "vulgar prejudices," has, as a matter of form, solemnly disposed of her hand at the altar, whilst the latter has always professedly been, what she is. But I should be sorry, if any who know themselves to be free from such gross indulgence of their sensual appe- tites, should, on that account, consider themselves less con- cerned in the guilt, which the whole nation has incurred, the guilt of depraving, as well as oppressing, the poor. The immense Aveight of the national debt, is not a heavier draw back upon the earnings, than that moral debt of the CAUSED BY THAT OF THE HIGHEll CLASSES. 135 nation, is upon the morality of each individual ; and in the latter case as in the former, the poor are the greater sufferers. As long as a man is engaged in the pursuit of any of those selfish ends, on which the framework of society is founded, such as the thirst of popularity, the wish for preferment and worldly honour, and every other species of ambition ; or the acquirement of wealth, the in- crease of revenue, a more splendid mode of living, or, per- haps, only a more genteel style of housekeeping, as long as to any of these things a man's heart is subservient, he has his share of guilt in the national depravation. Is the corruption of the lower orders any more than a conse- quence of the general tendency, every one to get as much, and to live as well, as he can ; manifested in them accord- ing to the limitation of their means, and the grossness of their education, in the meanest as well as in the most brutal manner.'* The vice is not in the thing wliich we seek, but in our seeking after the tilings of the world, and the things of the flesh. The poor man can only aspire to gain and sensual enjoyment ; the wealthy has a wider field thrown open to him ; but the spirit, in which both feel and act, is the same — the wealthy may call the objects of his exertions more elevated, but this only proves, that he is the greater hypocrite. It is in the nature of things, that those in a lower station shoidd look up to those who fill a higher place, at least in the estimation of men, and, therefore, if the tonegivers of society set up self-gratification as the end and object of life, it is but natural that their humbler neighbours should follow their word and example, in such measure and manner, as is possible in their circumstances. It is on this ground, that I despair of seeing any improve- ment take place in the character of the lower classes, as long as the principles of the present system are upheld ; unless, indeed, a more adequate provision were made for the education of their children. Such a provision would, in the present state of things, require the parents to be as much as possible excluded 136 WANDERIMO LIFE OF OUR POOR. from co-operation in the education of their children ; and in general the latter to be placed altogether out of the reach of those unfavourable and demoralizing circum- stances, by which they are now surrounded. Thus, for instance, one of the great impediments to a better organi- zation of charity schools, is the constant change of resi- dence of the parents, by which every such school is made subject to a great fluctuation, and the child, by the inter- ruptions of his instruction, and the changes of masters and schoolfellows, perpetually thrown back and discouraged. A society has been formed for the purpose of civilizing the gipsies, by inducing them to give up their Pandering habits, and to attach themselves to fixed abodes. But well as I wish to that society, I should think the last state of the gipsies far worse than the first, if they were to be reduced to the condition of most of our poor, who cannot be said to have as much of a home, as a gipsy family. The gipsy, it is true, never takes any but a temporary abode ; but is the residence of our poor in their miserable tenements less temporary .'' And is not the forest in which the former settles for a time, with the wide heavens for his roof, a dwelling place far preferable, as regards comfort, health and morality, to those dens, inclosed by brick walls, and surrounded by a smoky, filthy atmosphere, in which the latter settle for no longer period ? Besides, when the gipsy changes his place of encampment, his cart, and all he has, goes with him ; he has in fact a home, but a home which travels about with him ; there is no landlord to distress him for rent, nor a parish officer to strip him of liis bed, and his children''s clothing, for church-rates, for water-rates, for watching, and light- ing ; he is not obliged to make his escape in the night, leaving behind him the few scanty articles of furniture which he possesses, or the tools with which he works ; he may leave, whenever he pleases, without notice, and with- out obstruction, in open daylight, and take along with him all that he ever had an ambition to call his. Not so our BAD INFLUENCES UPON THEIR CHILDEEN. 137 poor. The miserable accommodation which they have, in what we call fixed abodes — most improperly so, because, although the houses remain always on the same spot, their inhabitants are vagrants — render their small property liable to the constant attacks of landlords and bailiffs, tax- gatherers, and parish collectors, and the little they can exempt from this despotism, is in constant circulation be- tween themselves and the pawnbrokers ; so that if we restrict the ideas of a home, or of possession to the smallest extent possible, viz. to the coat which a man has on his back, our poor cannot be said to be owners or inhabitants even of that, otherwise than in a most temporary way. What, then, must we expect to be the notions, feelings, and habits of children growing up under such circum- stances ! Again : if we consider, what is in other respects the in- fluence exercised over children out of school-hours, it is evident that the work of their education can make no great progress, as long as they remain exposed to it. If the parents are industrious, their time and attention is so en- tirely swallowed up by the pursuits of business, that they must abandon their children to such company as they meet with in the streets ; and what that is, we all know. If, on the contrary, the parents are idle and vicious, the case is still worse. Hence, even if our school instruction were all that can be desired, the task would almost seem to be a hopeless one ; and how much less, then, is success to be anticipated, when the school instruction itself is all that is ■ undesirable ! Take any of the commandments, which are inculcated in the school : — " Thou shalt not swear ; thou shalt not steal ; thou shalt not covet ; thou shalt not be angry with thy brother ; thou shalt not return evil for evil ;"" is it to be expected, that the spelling over those words, and the repeating of them by rote in one hour of the day, will have the effect of preventing the child from doing any of those things, whilst all the rest of the day he is directly tempted to do them, not by a dead letter. 138 CHARITY BOAEDIXG SCHOOLS PR01M3SED. but by life ; not by words, but by facts, by the examples of his felloMs, perhaps of his parents, by all the influences that work upon him, in-doors, and out of doors ? If the evil nature in the child is constantly called into action, and, properly, cultivated, what can it avjiil against this, that Avords are inculcated in the name of God, but even those, without faith in his indwelling power ? I think, I need not say more, to convince those who are truly earnest in their wish for the national improvement of education, that nothing effectual can be done, as long as the children are left at the mercy of the corrupt morals of their pai'ents, and of their miserable circumstances. The only remedy, then, is the establishment of charity boarding- schools, sufficiently large and numerous to insure educa- tion, from the ao-e of one or two to the age of fourteen years, to all those children, Avhose parents have not the will or the means to co-operate in an efficient manner with the teachers of day-schools, for the proper teaching of their offspring. The project of such establishments may at first sight strike you as something visionary and Uto- pian ; the expense, which they would involve, seems, with- out further consideration, to put a complete negative upon the hope of ever realizing such a plan. I confess that I do not, myself, think it possible to raise a fund sufficient, even for the establishment of one such institution, iyidepejidcnf of the bias of those false and cor- rupt principles, on which education is generally conducted. But this is owing to that monied pride, which presides over all the charitable institutions of this country ; a man who gives a sovereign annually towards their support, claiming on that ffround a ria;ht to interfere in their management, nay, and considering his guinea a sufficient evidence, that he is a competent judge of the matter. As long as that principle prevails, that, in proportion as a man is possessed of the mammon of this Avorld, in that proportion his voice is influential, and his will decisive, in the regulation of public affairs, so long, I confess it, I do not think it pos- THE EXPENSE WOULD REPAY ITSELF. 139 sible to raise even one institution of the kind I have de- scribed ; but, let it be remembered, it is not from want of means, but from want of an humble, world-forgettingj and God-seeking spirit. The means are ample enough ; even the actual expenses of society would, if properly ad- ministered, be sufficient, without any additional sacrifice, to carry the project into effect. I have, in a former lec- ture, adverted to the different heads of public expenditure, wliich might, with advantage, be converted to the pur- poses of education ; if to this were added, the whole amount of what is taken out of the pockets of society, by tliieves, pickpockets, and house-breakers, by fraudxdent dealers, and others, whose existence is a mere tax upon the com- monwealth, what an enormous sum would this make ! It would be interesting to ascertain its amount, in order to see, Avhat expense society incurs, willingly, or unwil- lingly, for the maintenance of a bad system, and what resources, therefore, might be relied on, if society were inclined to change the system. It is true, that not all this could be saved in the first year, but an extra expense would cover itself soon enough. What should we say, if a man had a pair of vicious horses, kicking his carriage to pieces everv day, so as to cause a constant expense for the mending of the carriage and harness, and occasionally for the medicating of the horses themselves ; should not we advise him to get a pair of young horses properly trained, and to employ the vicious horses in some way, in which they coidd not do any, or at least not so much mischief ; considering that the expense for the training of the young horses would soon be re-imbursed, by the saving of so much carriao-e mendino;? And if the man answered that he was already at great expense for his horses, and that he did not intend going to any greater expense for horses, that his young horses -svill grow up without training, and that if they turn out vicious, he shall always have a whip to give them a cut ; should we not tliink that man a fool ? But supposing society to have wisdom enough for in- 140 MOHAL DIFFICULTIES OF THE PLAN. curring the expense of training the rising generation, or supposing that some individuals had public spirit enough to try the experiment, at least, as far as their means would permit : the practicability of the plan, for the nation at large, would yet be subject to a difficulty, which I myself must admit to be much greater, than even the opponents of the plan would probably be aware of. The question, namely, arises; where are we to find teachers for such establishments, who will not undertake the office for hire's sake, but from a real interest in the cause itself, in a truly benevolent, and truly Christian spirit ? and at the same time, men sufficiently enlightened, respecting the constitu- tion of human nature, and the treatment which it requires, so that their zeal may not be without knowledge ? And to this I would add another question : where shall we find managers , and committees, entertaining sufficiently mode- rate notions of their directorial capacities, and of their corporate wisdom, men who would shew a noble confidence in the zeal, the conscience, the experience, and intelligence of an humble schoolmaster, who rather than check him by outward rules and precepts, would in brotherly love en- courage him to do the best in his power ? There is reason, indeed, to ask these questions, if we consider the general ignorance, nay, the positive blindness which prevails on the subject of education. Every one agrees, that shoe-making is a trade which must be learned, and that a man who has not had much to do with horses, so far from being able to break in a young horse, will probably spoil one already broken in : every one claims for himself a degree of superiority of judgment in those matters, with which he is daily conversant, and allows the same to others — except on the business of education, on which every man thinks himself sufficiently well informed, and competent to judge for himself, and to which, as a sort of universal quackery, every man turns his hand, who has failed in every other trade. This abuse Avould be contemptible only, if it was confined to quacks, but when PUBLIC IGNORANCE ON EDUCATION. 141 it is countenanced by respectable bodies of men, it becomes intolerable. Not to mention those parties, of whom nothing but what is dark and ignorant, is ever expected, I have been present lately at the public meeting of the British and Foreign School Society, which, professedly, is the most liberal, and the most enlightened of all the public bodies, engaged in promoting the cause of education — arid what did I hear during the course of several hours in a meeting, expressly called for that specific object ? What did the report begin and end with ? What all May re- ports begin and end with : self-congratulation on the great success of the institution. What M'as the main import of the speeches ? What all May speeches are pregnant with : strains of mutual flattery, and clever sentences neatly twisted to a point, for the rousing of a clap in the hall. There was but one man, who knew what he spoke about, and spoke about what he knew, and he was the only one, too, who shook his venerable grey locks with disapproba- tion and disgust, when the balmy oil of flattest flattery was poured out upon him. Concerning the object itself, for which professedly the meeting was assembled, but little was said, and of that little, there was but little to the pur- pose. Among the great truths which were there revealed with so much bombast, and received with so much ap- plause, one which I noted down among others, as a curio- sity, was, that " attention is the first principle of civili- zation.'''' For the credit of the man who said it, I will suppose, that he really meant nothing when he said it, ' except that he meant to make a INIay speech about civiliza- tion, for which purpose he thought one sentence as good as another ; and that which came first into his mouth, the best of all. For how is it otherwise to be accounted for, that " attention," which is neither a power, nor a life, nor a truth, but a mere habit, should be honoured with the name *• principle," — and that it should be called " the first prin- ciple of human civilization," by a man,'who must be presumed to know, that there is a living principle, the source of life 142 PROVED BY FACTS. everlasting, which is, or at least ought to be, the only princi- ple of civilization among Christians? Another speaker excited the attention and curiosity of the meeting not a little by entering into an account of the progress, which the cause of education had made among the savages of that part of the world, which he had visited as a Christian missionary. But how great was my astonishment, when at the close of his tale it turned out, that the important evidence he had, of the spread of civilization in that quarter, was that he found in a cottage in the midst of the desert, the spelling, pence, and other lesson tables of the Infant School Soci- ety, hanging round the walls !! Are these the signs, by which we are to discern the progress of Christ's kingdom in the hearts of little children ? Is all distinction lost among us, between the word, which we print on paper, and the everlasting Word, the life-giver of all ? This conclusion, indeed, one is sometimes tempted to come to, when hearing declarations such as these, or another made at the same meeting, and, if I recollect right, in the report itself. It was said in defence of the " machinery" of the British System — that mechanical education was not the object in view, but that " the machitiery of the system was the great means of producing moral and spiritual re- sults '.r Is it possible that any rational men, not to speak of Christians, should seriously believe and assert, that any machinery, whether that of the British System or any other, can ever produce, or serve to produce, moral and spiritual results? Such, however, is the case, and it shows to what a fearful disregard of God's word we have come, in the midst of professions of zeal for its cause. We want to produce moral and spiritual results ; but although there is a power expresssly pointed out to us by God, as the only source of all that is moral and spiritual, we either deny the universal presence of that power, or dis- regard it as a matter of minor importance, as a mere object of religious belief, and have recourse to machinery. Let those who advocate such principles, reflect for a moment NECESSITY OF EXPOSING IT. 143 on the real nature of God's revelation, on one hand, and of their opinions and proceedings, on the other ; let them imagine for a moment our Saviour still dwelling on earth ; let them imagine themselves calling upon him in a body, and proposing to him to promote his kingdom in the hearts of little children by the machinery devised by Joseph Lancaster — let them imagine this, and if they have in their minds a living image of the Saviour, if the voice of his spirit be heard in their hearts, let them take the answer which they will there receive. I will not increase the number of quotations from the transactions of that day, as I have not introduced them from any invidious feelings, either towards the society, or towards any individual concerned on the pccasion ; but from a conviction, that in these days, in which it is the popular fashion to extol one another''s virtues, and to close our eyes upon one another's defects, however much they may mili- tate against Christ and his cause, it is a real charity if a man will take upon himself, to lay bare all the weakness, superficiality, and ignorance, which is displayed every where, and nowhere more than at the May-meetings ;* which are for the religious world, I believe, what the Christmas pantomimes are for the other. I have directed my remarks more especially against the British and Foreign School Society, rather than against any other, not because I think worse, but because I think better of it than of others ; and, I trust, it will always remain my principle and practice, most severely to censure those, in whose good intentions I have most confidence, and of whose zeal for improvement, and capability of amending their own notions, * From the same motive the author of these pages wrote, on a similar occa- sion, some strictures for insertion in a rehgious periodical, in the editing of which he took, at that time, a part. But his article was suppressed, avowedly for no other reason, but because the committee of the society concerned in the matter, had ordered two hundred copies of that number of the paper, which was to contain the report of their proceedings. This throws light on the man- ner, in which the suffrages of public opinion are obtained. 144! EXAMIXATION OF THE DIFFERENT SYSTEMS. I have the greatest hope. " If the salt have lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted ?" I was, I own it, grieved to hear, on that occasion, what I did hear ; and still more was I grieved, that I did not hear any thing respecting the true principles, or the real objects of education. All that was said, on this latter point, was a recommendation of the cause to the public, on the ground of the advan- tages, which society derived from a better education of its members;* a point on which I have sufficiently enlarged, in a former lecture, to pass it over without any farther remark on this occasion. Enough, I trust, has been said here, to show the dearth of real information, there is on the subject, even among those, whose active exertions prove them to be by no means indifferent to it. This will, how- ever, appear in a still more striking light, if we proceed to a review of those systems of education, which are now the order of the day, and which we must consider as the cream of what the public zeal and intelligence can produce in matters of education, seeing that they are every where praised up as the improvements of this enlightened age upon the darkness and silliness of our ancestors. As re- gards those ancient charities, which, every one takes for granted, are ill conducted, I may for this very reason be brief; nor am I, I confess, very conversant with the details of their systems, my knowledge of them being con- fined to what I have occasionally picked up. A visit which I once paid with a friend to a large charity school, down in * On another occasion, when the effect of education upon the diminution of crime was under discussion, I heard a noble lord, who cuts a conspicuous figure in the religious world, and, of course, at the May meetings too, express his decided approbation of the efforts made for the education of the poorer classes of this country, *' because, if the actual diminution of crime were a matter of doubt, it was, at least, beyond aU question, that the behaviour of those unhappy individuals, upon whom the sentence of the law was carried into effect, was greatly improved ; a fact which he would hail as a consequence of the more general spread of religious education !" Who would ever have ima- ginedfthat one of the objects of Christian education could be, to prepare a man to be hanged with better grace ? OLD-FASHIONED CHARITY SCHOOLS. 145 the country, was not calculated to give me much informa- tion ; although I shall never forget the impression made on my mind, by several rows of boys, in blue coats and yellow trowsers, standing, all the time that we were in the room, with their copybooks held up with both hands towards us for inspection, after the manner of soldiers presenting arms, and with faces behind them as dead as sign posts, mecha- nically bowing by rows as we passed them, in going up and down the room, just as if it was the effect of some machinery, with springs concealed under the floor, over which we walked. I know that I felt, in that room, as if the air was too close for me to breathe in, and this feeling probably prevented me from entering into any conversation, either with the boys, or even with the master himself, whose countenance, full of benevolent monotony, expressed the greatest willingness to answer those questions which, from the physiognomical evidences of his intelligence, no one could be tempted to ask. More information, than from this visit, did I derive from a little boy, of about eleven yeai's old, who is a scholar in an old established charity school in London, and who called one Sunday morning on a visit to his mother, then engaged in my family as a nurse. " Well, my boy,"" said I, " do you go to school any where ?" " Yes, Sir," was his answer, " at such and such a place," naming the school. " How many boys are there in your school .'''" " Between sixty and seventy." " And how many good ones are there among you .?" " Not above a dozen, Sir !" " And what are you ? among the good ones, or among the bad ones ?''' " Oh, / am among the good ones, Sir." " And how do you know that you are a good boy, and that all those other boys are bad ones .?" " Oh, because they cant read and write, and / can.''' In the course of some further conversa- tion, which I do not recollect verbatim, I ascertained that this extraordinary criterion of moral value was closely connected, in the boy's mind, with the change of places introduced in the school, as it appeared from the boy's 146 THE NATIONAL AND THE BRITISH SYSTEMS. description of the ring in which they stood when reading, by the way of keeping pace with the improvements of the age. To these improvements it is due that we should now turn our attention, and I hope, we shall be able to take a tolerably complete review of them, by taking up, one after the other, the tliree leading systems, which divide among tliemselves the dominion over the rising intelligence of the plebeians of Great Britain, viz. 1. The Bell, ali/js Madras, alias National system, wliich, if there were lack of names, might also verv appropriately be called the square sys- tem;* iJ, The Laxcasteriax, alias Borough-Road, alias British svstem, which, in contra-distinction to the former, might also be termed the semicircular system; and, 3. of less name than the two preceding ones, the Ixfaxt system. As regards the two first named, the Xational and the British system, it would appear from these appellations, that they are aiming at the same thing, under different names ; at all events, it is a delicate matter to introduce thein both at the same time. and. as it were, in a parallel, considering that they have been rivals from the beginning ; and that tlie national system, as the younger of the two, has, to obviate. I suppose, anv confusion, which might arise from the striking similarity of their means and methods, always been careful to evince a proper spirit of alienation towards the other. Nevertheless, as my business * From the squares, draTm ■«!& chalk on the floor, to serve as a line of de- marcation for the toes of the boys. It is, however, but fair to mention, that, in some of the schools, a very near approach has been made to the circle ; still, it is supposed, ■without any departure from orthodox principles, and without danger of assimilation with nonconformist schools, whose distinctive feature is a semicircle by the waD side. This, and the circumstance that in the latter schools the seats are fixed, whereas they are moveable in the former, will, it is hoped, for ever effe«ually prevent any improper approximation of the schools patronized by the establishment, to the usages of '' schismatics," and the latter will have the great comfort of a visible distinction between their own institu- tions, and those which are the ofispring of " one of the daughters of the mother of abominations. ' ' TH£IK I>EKKCRATIO?r OF THE »CRIFTU»ES. 147 is not with the NatUmal, nae the British iff steal, nor with the managers or patrons of either, but with the mode of education arlopte^l in their «chor>!i., I shall, at the risk of affronting brjth parties by sfi doing, take the liberty of a%?irx.iating thenn together, on thf/se points, on which I can- not discover any difference between them ; and mention them separately, only, with reference to such particulars, as I have actually observed them to differ in. The great matter which I have against them both, and in which I am afraid they are equally guilty, i.s the dese- cration of the Holy Scriptures, by making their contorts subservient to the iastruction in j^pelling and reading. Whether this be done by giving the Bible itself into the hands of the children as a spelling book, or by hanging scripture extracts round the walls, matters, of coarse, very little. The blame attaches to the want of a due regard for that book, which contains the records of the revelations of God to man, composed, by their various aotbcH^, under the immediate influence and direct inspiration of God's Holy Spirit. On this ground, and on this ground only — setting aside all the deplorable consequences resulting from such a system — I would reprobate, in the strongest terms, the profane practice of those schools, by which that, whJdi was given with a view, to inform as concerning the higiiest purpose of our whole existence, is degraded into means for the accomplishment of the most trivial purpose mder the sun, the mechanical attainment of reading. Is it cccisistent, I will not say with religious feeling, but merely with common sense and propriety, that that book, which, of aU books, requires the deepest thought, and the most perfect collect edneas