hOM1 E LIFE:
TWELVE LECTURES.
WILLIAM HAGUE, D.D
PHILADELPHIA:
AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY,
No. 530 ARCH STREET.




Entered according to Act of Congress, In the year 1854, by
EVANS       &   I {(C KE ISON,
In the Clerk's office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern
District of Vw York.




TO THI
MEM    R JY OF M Y. W,
3ofbn Xloriartt Riafue,
WHO,
ON TEE 313T OF OCTOBER, 1854, AT THE AGE 0?
TWENTY YE R3 AND THREE MONTEHS
WAS CALLED AWAY
YROM THE 3CENES OF EARTH TO HIS HOME I HEAVEU
tft(is Volume
Is
D3DICATED.








& an f r        t s.
LECTURE I.
THE MARRIAGE INSTITUTION.
"Marriage is honorable in all." —HErBaws xUii. 4.
LECTURE IL.
DUTIES OF THE HUSBAND.
"Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them."-COLOSSIANS ili. 19.
LECTURE III.
DUTIES OF TUE WIFE.
"Let the wife see that she reverence her husband." — riirs3a.S- v. 83,
(iii)




iv                         CONTENTS.
LECTURE IV.
DUTIES OF PARENTS TO CHILDREN.
"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart
from it." —POVERBS xxii. 6.
LECTURE V.
DUTIES OF CHILDREN TO PARENTS.
"Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Ionor thy father
and mother, (which i*the first commandment with promise,) that it may be well
with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth."-EPHESIANS vi. 1, 2, 8.
LECTURE VI.
DUTIES OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
"Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in
unity."-PBALM cxxxiii. 1.
LECTURE VII.
MUTUAL DUTIES OF HOUSEHOLDERS AND SERVANTS.
"Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he
be of thy brethren, or of the strangers of thy land within thy gates."-DEUTERONOMY xxiv. 14.
LECTURE      VIII.
DUTIES OF PRINCIPALS TO CLERKS AND APPRENTICES.
"Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants."-1 KINGs x. 8.




CONTENTS.                           V
LECTURE IX.
DUTIES OF YOUNG MEN TO THEIR EMPLOYERS.
"Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over mniny
thlngs." —MATTHrEW xxv. 21.
LECTURE X.
THE USE AND ABUSE OF AMUSEMENTS.
"They that use this world as not abusing it."-1 CORINTHIANS vii. 31.
LECTURE XI.
rHE FAMILY LIBRARY.
"Give attendance to reading."-1 TIMOTHY iv. 13.
LECTURE XII.
THE SELF-GOVERNED MAN.
"He that ruleth his spirit is better than he that taketh a city." —PnovErns xvi. 38.








Cie,(atrtage Insti~tnfim
"MARRIAGE IS HONORABLE IN ALL."
Hebrews xiii. 4.
" How small of all that human hearts endure
That part which laws or kings can cause or cure!
Still to ourselves in every place consign'd,
Our own felicity we make or find:
With secret course, which no loud storms annoy,
Glides the smooth current of domestic joy."
THIS fine sentiment, which Goldsmith has so well
expressed, was suggested to the poet by a wide and
close survey of society, as it disclosed itself to the
curious eye of a philosophic traveller. He had looked
upon every phase of European life with a genial, sympathetic spirit; he had been welcomed as a friend and
companion by men and children of every rank and
station; he had participated in the joys and sorrows
of the noble and the peasant; had felt himself at home
alike in the turretted castle and the thatched hut; and
yet, in spite of all the diversified contrasts that are
caused by wealth and poverty, he exults in the cheering truth that every man's happiness is committed
chiefly to his own keeping, because real happiness
springs from deep interior sources, which the caprices
CT




8          THE MARRIAGE INSTITUTION.
of Fortune or Power cannot destroy. Ite had witnessed, no doubt, strange sights of splendid misery
as well as of abject wretchedness; but often, in the
lowly cottage which Love, Chastity, and Honor had
hallowed as a home of the heart, he had seen the signs
of that mental peace, and of that healthful play of
kind affections, which the lordly proprietor of the
neighboring domain might have sighed in vain to
possess.
Amidst all the desolating changes, the cares and
pains of this disordered world, what reason have we
to thank God that we are greeted on every side by
some reminiscences of Paradise! that when man was
banished from scenes of primeval bliss, he bore with
him two divine institutions, as memorials of his "first
estate," as lights and aids to cheer the gloom of his
exile, and to awaken hopes of a better day! We
speak of the Sabbath and Marriage, for both are
tokens of God's love, and of his paternal interest in
the moral welfare of our fallen race. Our Saviour
declared that " the Sabbath was made for man"-that
is, adapted to his physical and moral wants. So, too,
marriage was made for man by Him who said in the
beginning, from a regard to the social nature which
He had created, "It is not good for man to be alone,"
and who enstamped perpetual dignity on the institution, when, amidst the bowers and bloom of Eden, He
presented the first bride to her husband.
The marriage institution has beein aptly designated
"the hinge of all kindred, the capital link of the
chain that binds society together." In all ages of the




THE MARRIAGE INSTITUTION.          9
world, it has been regarded as of divine origin. The
beautiful old chant of the Jewish Temple-service
sounded out the truth, which has been acknowledged in almost every nation of the earth: " God
setteth the solitary in families." Without the institution of marriage, the family could have had no existence; and without the family there could have
been no ties of kindred, no social order, no growth of
private affections, no source of public virtue, no civilization, and no progress. Every human being, bereft
of domestic relations, would exist in a state of savage
solitude, and the social condition of the world would
realize anew that terrible description of the antediluvian age, which the pen of Moses has transmitted to
us:" the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth
was filled with violence."
Regarding, then, the marriage institution as the
primary source of all friendly relationships, of all
"the tender charities of life," the bulwark of virtue,
peace, and order, let us proceed to consider,
I. TIE FOUNDATION UPON WHICH IT RESTS.
II. SEVERAL PRACTICAL LESSONS WHICH THE SUBJECT SUGGESTS.
In regard to the foundation of the marriage institution, speculative philosophers have propounded various
theories which cannot endure the test of sober examination. Some of these theories are treated with due
respect when they are designated as mental vagaries.
They seem to have been suggested by a spirit of hostility to all the restraints of law upon the spontaneous
play of appetite and passion, rather than by the spirit




10          THE MARRIAGE INSTITUTION.
of sound philosophy. They have been announced by
individuals, by cliques and schools and socialistic
organizations, whose chief aim has been to break the
bands of the marriage covenant, and treat its obligations with contempt; to degrade woman from her
proper rank as the wedded equal and companion of
man, and to render her the mere instrument of his
pleasure, the toy of caprice. They have aimed their
most malignant shafts against marriage, in view of the
same reasons for which Milton celebrated it in his
animated strain:
Hail, wedded love! mysterious law  true source
Of human offspring! sole propriety
In Paradise, if all things common else!
By thee adulterous lust was driven from man,
Among the bestial herds to range; by thee,
(Founded in reason, loyal, just, and pure,)
Relations dear, and all the charities
Of father, son, and brother, first were known.
They have asserted that the institution is founded in
superstition, or in priestcraft,-in the prejudice which
defends old customs, or in some form of conventionalism. Poor, superficial absurdity I As if such shifting
quicksands could have sustained the weight of the
social structure as it has long stood amongst the civilized nations-unmoved amidst the drifting wrecks of
empires, amidst the changes of national creeds, and in
spite of the advancement of human knowledge! An
institution which has put forth such a mighty power
to modify the whole form of human society, to curb
and guide the strongest passions of our nature,-an




7HE MARRIAGE INSTITUTION.           11
institution which has endured the shocks of those
moral convulsions that have shaken the world, and
still keeps its hold as firmly as ever upon the consciences and hearts of mankind, must surely rest upon
some deep and rocky foundations very different from
any that could have been furnished by the conven
tional arrangements of patriarchal times. The old
childish story, that the world stands on the back of an
elephant, contains as much of sober sense, touching
the relation of effect and cause, as this class of theories
exhibits touching the basis of the marriage institution.
But now, when we regard this institution as a great
fact of history, and address ourselves to the work of
finding out some method by which we may account
for its existence, its power, and authority, the inquiring and reflecting mind can rest with satisfaction in no
view of its origin, except that which is set forth by
our Saviour himself, who declared marriage to be an
appointment of God, forecast in the plan of creation,
and founded, therefore, in the constitution of nature.
"Have ye not read," said he, "that He who made
them at the beginning made them male and female,
and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and
mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they twain
shall be one flesh?  Wherefore they are no more
twain, but one flesh.  What, therefore, God hath
joined together, let not man put asunder." This declaration of our great Teacher is in perfect harmony
with the teachings of history and of philosophy. For
if, for a moment, we set the authority of a divine revelation entirely out of view, what is the conclusion to




12         TIIE MARRIAGE INSTITUTION.
which a sober philosophy will conduct us? What
" doth nature itself teach" us?  Reasoning from facts,
we learn surely as much as this: that the existence and
the regulation of the social propensities and passions
are both essential to the preservation of the human
race. If there were not such propensities in existence,
universal celibacy would lead to the extinction of our
species. But then, while we perceive that these propensities are essential elements of our being, we also
perceive that an utterly lawless or unrestrained indulgence of them would lead to the ultimate extinction of the race as certainly, although not as speedily,
as universal celibacy. Either the annihilation of these
propensities on the one hand, or the blindly impulsive
indulgence of them on the other, would violate the
natural law of self-preservation.  Hence it follows
that these great moving forces of human nature must
be guided by some well-defined rule, and their sphere
of action restricted within some proper limit. While
the absolute necessity of some such limitation is obvious to the view of all, the lights of reason and of
experience unite in showing that a law of limitation
can be placed on no ground whatsoever, so that it
shall have authority and moral force, except in that
permanent union of the sexes which God himself has
enjoined, dignified, and blessed, in the establishment
of the marriage institution.
Reposing on these deep and strong foundations, this
sacred institution will remain unshaken by all the
assaults of unbridled passion and by all the schemings
of infidel philosolhy. Every plea that we utter in its




THE MARRIAGE INSTITUTION.          13
behalf is but an echo of the teaching of nature, and
we only repeat the lessons which the voice of nature
sounds forth in the ears of all mankind-lessons illustrated by the health, strength, and wealth, the domestic peace, the scenes of comfort, the civil benefits and
the moral progress which are the heritage of those
who observe this great fundamental law; illustrated,
too, by the nameless ills and woes, the wasting diseases, the languor of natural affections, the destruction of every element that enters into the composition
of home life, by the death of neglected offspring, by
the utter disorganization of the social state, and by the
fell swoop of rampant vices that have darkened the
history of every household, and of every neighborhood, and of every community, wherein this ordinance of Heaven has been dishonored.
And here, while we are speaking of the marriage
law as a part of the constitution of nature, and while
we see in this unity a beautiful harmony between the
teaching of reason and revelation, let it be observed
that POLYGAMY is as directly opposed to the laws of
nature as it is to the laws of the Bible and of all Christian nations. For the substantial equality of the numbers of both sexes born, in all countries, at all times,
and amidst every diversity of circumstances, proves
that it is the divine plan, as Paul expresses it, that
" every man should have his own wife, and every
woman her own husband;" that is, that single individuals should be exclusively united. An unequal distribution is, evidently, not "the intention of nature;"
and therefore, to use the words of the celebrated
2




14         THE MARRIAGE INSTITUTION.
Spurzheim, "polygamy is in opposition to the natural
law of morality;" * it is suited only to the genius of
those old oriental despotisms under whose shelter it
has thriven, whose rapacious passions it has nourished,
and whose power it is gradually consuming.
The argument which I have just announced, touching the will of God, expressed in the constitution of
nature, is, in effect, brought clearly to view by the
prophet Malachi, (chap. ii. 14, 15,) who taught that
if it had been God's design to allow a man to have
more wives than one, He would have originally created
more women than men. In one of his bold remonstances against the sins of his times, he exclaims, "The
Lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of
thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously.
Yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. And did not he make one? Yet had he the
residue of the Spirit. And wherefore one? That he
might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your
spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife
of his youth."  Two far-reaching truths are here
asserted by the last of the Old Testament prophets
1. That God laid the foundation of the marriage institution in the original creation of a single pair; 2. That
the benign aim of this arrangement was the advancement of human happiness, by the cultivation of religion and virtue in the family.
And here, surely, in the case of every reflecting and
*Spurzheim's Philosophical Catechism on the Natural Laws of
Man, p. 85.




THE MARRIAGE INSTITUTION.            15
candid reader, who has had fair opportunities for observing the varied aspects of human society, we may
safely appeal to those calm judgments which such an
observation has suggested. Where is the man, gifted
with ordinary means of information, who has not seer
that, wheresoever the sanctions of the marriage insti
tution are disregarded, home life has no permanent
attractions; that the private virtues of every class arc
deprived of all genial aliment; that there domestic
education cannot exist, and the evil passions of childhood are left to luxuriate in fearful wildness; that
there the kindly affections of our nature are often
blasted in the bud; that habits of industry and of
self-control are never formed, and the moral dignity
of woman-that great conservative element of the
social state-can scarcely be named but to awaken the
ruthless spirit of mockery and satire? Entirely truthful to nature and to history are the words of Robert
Hiall, in his celebrated discourse on Modern Infidelity:
" Marriage institutions are the great civilizers of the
world, and essential to the welfare of mankind. They
are sources of tenderness as well as guardians of peace.
Without the permanent union of sexes there can be
no permanent union of families; the dissolution of
nuptial ties involves the dissolution of domestic society. But domestic society is the seminary of social
affections, the cradle of sensibility, where the first elements are acquired of that tenderness and humanity
which cement mankind together; and were they entirely extinguished, the whole fabric of social institutions would be dissolved."  What a signal realization




16         THE MARRIAGE INSTITUTION.
of this truth was presented to the gaze of all mankind
by the most refined country of Europe, during that
"Reign of Terror" which covered the whole realm
with a pall of funereal gloom! Although the French
Revolution sprang, by a natural law of reaction, from
the atrocities of that kingly and priestly despotism
that had preceded it, nevertheless, it became a raging
whirlwind, which the Genius of Infidelity could not
rule; and when we pore over the horrors of that
stormy time, when our hearts sicken in view of that
chaotic ruin into which France was plunged, let us
remember that this state of things was heralded by the
granting of twenty thousand divorces in the city of
Paris in a single year, and celebrated by the public
adoration of a beautiful, but vile and shameless
woman, who was enthroned as the "Goddess of
Reason," and borne through the streets in a splendid chariot, amid the honors of a grand triumphal
procession. Facts like these have a terrible significance, showing, as they do, to what an extent the
moral sentiment had become corrupted throughout
all classes of a cultivated community, and showing,
too, that wheresoever the marriage institution-the
chief support of domestic virtue-becomes subverted,
the state itself will reel from its position, and involve
all the interests of society in its overthrow. No wonder is it that, at a later period, Napoleon, with that
keen intuition which distinguished him, declared it as
his opinion that the great want of France was a new
race of mothers. What deep and solemn meanings
lay enfolded in that sentence! Was it possible for




THE MARRIAGE INSTITUTION.           17
mortal lips, in words so few, to paiy a finer tribute to
the dignity of that institution of which we speak, ordained of Heaven, as it is, to be the basis upon which
shall rest the whole fabric of domestic happiness, of
social order, of a vital and progressive civilization?
In view of the truths which we have been considering, several practical lessons suggest themselves to
our attention.
1. It becomes us to guard against those opinions
and practices which tend to disparage the marriage
institution or to impair a sense of its authority. In a
corrupt state of society, infractions of the marriage
law are treated with a kind of Parisian levity. Continence and chastity are made objects of ridicule; and
even, if we may quote a phrase from the philosophic
IHume, sneered at as " monkish virtues." This state
of public sentiment is the sure precursor of national
decay. Its progress may be slow and stealthy; but
whensoever it shall have gained the ascendancy, the
social organization will have become diseased to its
very core. In the best days of ancient Rome, the
marriage institution was invested with associations of
sacredness and honor. From the building of the city,
more than five centuries elapsed before there was recorded a single instance of DIVORCE. It seems that
the example of Spurius Cabilius was morally contagious, so that at last, Cato, "the great moralist," resigned his wife to another man, who, at his death,
made her his heir, and then her first husband received
her as his own again. These licentious manners were
in the full tide of triumph when those conquerors of
2*




18         rHE MARRIAGE INSTITUTION.
the world governed Judea, where King Herod took
unto himself his brother Philip's wife, and then
allowed John the Baptist to be beheaded for calling
upon him to repent of his crime. Thus, throughout
the realm of Roman civilization, the bonds of domestic
life were thoroughly relaxed; and that relaxation was
one of the mighty causes that contributed to that great
event of modern history which it has tasked the genijs of Gibbon to trace and delineate, the Decline and
Fall of the Roman Empire.
Moreover, there are now abroad in the land various
forms of Communism, wild socialistic theories, railing
at the marriage law as a species of tyranny, decrying
"the single family arrangements" as hostile to the
spirit of genuine philanthropy or of universal love,
and branding the household as " a den of selfishness."
Such are the epithets of the celebrated Robert Owen,
of Lanark, who spent his life in a vain attempt to promote general benevolence by extirpating private affections, and to remove vice and misery from the earth
by laying it upon society to make full provision for
the gratification of those constitutional desires which
nature has implanted in the breast of every individual.
As well might he have thought to make all men temperate by an ample supply of cold water, or to make
all men wise by an equal distribution of books, as to
make all men happy by a well-adjusted distribution of
the elements of wealth.  The evils to be remedied
lie not so much in the physical condition as in the




THE MARRIAGE INSTITUTION.          19
moral character of the men and women around us;
and those principles and affections which constitute a
sound and well-balanced character, are to be supplied,
if at all, by the subtle, genial influences of home-life,
rather than by the artificial apparatus of the Phalanstery. Mr. Owen, as we believe, was a sincere and
kind-hearted man; so was Fourier, the most celebrated French Socialist; so, too, have been many
others who have brought commanding talents and
learning to the support of Communism. They have
labored with a noble aim to remove some of the most
terrible social evils that now afflict the masses of mankind. Nevertheless, their experiments have failed, and
must fail until, in every scheme of social re6rganization, they shall more clearly and fully recognize the
obligations of the marriage law, the sacredness of the
family, the permanence of the domestic relations, as
well as the inalienable rights of the individual, in his
personal relation to the civil government. Then, and
not till then, will they be able to furnish a respectable
share of contribution to the real progress of society;
for every plan of reform which contravenes or overlooks the first principles of a simple New Testament
Christianity, however splendid it may appear as an
ideal theory, is destined at last to furnish a new practical commentary on that significant saying of Jesus:
"Every plant which my heavenly Father has not
planted shall be rooted up."
2. Since the marriage bond was ordained to form a




20         TEIE MARRIAGE INSTITUTION.
permanent union between the parties so long as they
"both shall live," its obligations ought not to be
assumed without that degree of deliberation which shall
insure the full consent of the judgment and the heart.
In what other event of earthly history is one's happiness more deeply involved? In what other event of
earthly history is so much of playful recklessness exhibited? How many fix their destiny for life, as if it
were all a matter of sport I Men jest about it even in
their sage proverbs: they say, " Marriage is a lottery;"
they say, " Matches are made in heaven;" thence they
proceed to act, in regard to it, as if it were something
that lies within the realm of Chance, or the realm of
Fate, concerning which we poor mortals on the earth
have no responsibility at all. Wrhat a spectacle of
misery is there disclosed when two persons are joined
together in the bonds of a sacred covenant without any
previous consideration, without any congeniality of
sentiment, or any kind of preparation for their common duties, toils, or cares I With both of them, perhaps, the project of such a union has sprung from a
mere freak of fancy, from the impulse of a moment,has been begun and carried through in the spirit of
romance, while anticipation has invested the scenery
of life with every tint and hue except those which are
thrown over it by the experience of its realities. More
than once have we seen the rash deed to have been
followed by a long course of repentance. Yet even
such a case is not hopeless. For more than once have
I known that where the thoughtless, dashing young
couple have committed such a mistake, and have be



THE MARRIAGE INSTITUTION.          21
come awakened to a sober sense of their condition
they have had the wisdom to make the best of it; so
that, by mutual attentions, by forbearance, by acts of
kindness, by a cultivated spirit of courtesy, those
habits which are called a " second nature" have thriven by a gradual and healthy growth, and have laid a
good foundation for domestic happiness. It was said,
in a certain instance, that when the unfortunate victims of this sort of foolish rashness awoke from their
dreamy illusion, that "each pitied the other, and pity
was converted into love." Therefore let none despair;
let it be the aim of the thoughtless pair to fulfil the
duties enjoined by solemn vows, and the serene light
of Heaven's smile may yet illumine their pathway.
Especially, as we have seen, where the character of
each of them has been modified by true religion, the
effect has been wonderful; for gloom has given place
to cheerfulness; the sounds of discord have died away,
and the music of loving words has imparted to the
hearth and home the aspect of a new creation. Nevertheless, although an antidote to the evil of rashness
has sometimes been realized, let none on that account
rush into solemn engagements thoughtlessly. In no
act of human life should one more prayerfully seek
the guidance of' God. " Commit thy way unto Him,
and He will direct thy paths." He will keep thee
from fatal snares. Providence rules in behalf of those
who feel their need of divine direction, and things that
seem the most adverse to our wishes shall strangely
work together for good to those who ask wisdom of
Him. And when he deigns to bless the covenant
which unites a couple in bonds that only death can




22         THE MARRIAGE INSTITUTION.
sever, then shall be enjoyed the sweetness of domestic
bliss, unmixed with drops of bitter, which neglect or
temper sheds into its crystal cup.
3. The formation of the marriage union should
always be prompted by genuine affection. The scriptural precept enjoins it upon the husband that he love
his wife even as himself. If a man be conscious that
he is incapable of cherishing towards the companion
of his choice an affection of such purity, depth, and
strength,-in that case, for him "it is not good to
marry." The divine law is, too, that the wife should
be subject to her husband; and if, while unmarried,
she be not conscious of a love that would render obedience to this law practicable for her, it would be a
perilous experiment for her to assume the marriage
vow. For while nothing is more beautiful than the
harmony of kindred hearts, nothing is more hateful
than the constant chafing that comes from the forced
companionship of those whose characters are unadjusted to each other.
There can be no compensation for the want of
genial love in a married pair. Without it, the best
means of enjoyment that wealth can furnish become
insipid; even palatial grandeur is dreary, beauty is as
"painted flame," courtesy itself seems as. hollow mockery, and the heart sighs in vain for that sympathy
which imparts a zest to prosperity, blunts the sting of
calamity, and pours a renovating balm of life through
every faculty of one's nature. Such marriage unions
as calculating parents sometimes plan from mercenary
motives, have been the bane and curse of many a
family for successive generations. The springs of




THE MARRIAGE INSTITUTION.           23
social life are poisoned by the moral malaria that
hang murkily around the abodes of those who are the
victims of such heartless schemes.  For, although
equality of rank, fortune, and position, may have its
advantages, these are all lighter than the small dust
of the balance when weighed against those qualities of
character which form the basis of a real and permanent
union.
If the great principles and the practical rules which
have now been considered, could be effectually commended to the minds and hearts of a single generation
so as to be realized in action, what an altered aspect
would the social condition of our race exhibit! What
a mighty stride would have been made towards the
attainment of that state of millennial bliss which the
Harp of Prophecy has for ages celebrated! How
speedily would our globe be set throughout with
happy homes! The hard lot of poverty would be
softened, the deceptive glare of wealth and fashion
would give place to the healthful sunlight of inward
peace; and the earth, as it rolls in its orbit, if surveyed
by the inhabitants of purer realms, would be hailed by
them as a school of education, formed by the hand of
the Almighty to rear a fallen race for honor, glory,
and immortality. Thanks be to God that, despite the
murmurs of discontent, the wails of woe, the ravages of
sin, which beset us on every hand, there are some homles
wherein these benign effects are enjoyed in their reality and fulness: let it be ours to do what in us lieth
to render them the free, the transmitted heritage of
our own and of every land.




ltites tof te ishaii
"HUSBANDS, LOVE YOUR WIVES, AN]) BE NOT BITTER AGAINST
TIIEM."-Colosslans ii. 19.
A WELL-ORDERED family, presided over by a married
couple who are united by sincere affection, by
kindred sentiments, and by one general aim of life,
is a lovely moral spectacle that is fitted to attract the
sympathies of angels towards our fallen world. It is
the genial nursery of all that is noble in human character; and when the spirit of pure religion rules in
the breast of every member of it, there is seen a closer
approximation to the society of heaven than can be
found in any other earthly association. It is one of
the finest products of Christianity, and one which has
been known to attract the admiring gaze of a calm
heathen observer with a power all its own. Scarcely
any thing can be mentioned that carries with it a more
marked contrast with every social aspect of Paganism.
Hence, the fathers of our missionary enterprise, at the
outset of their work, were desirous that those who went
forth to teach Christianity to the idolatrous nations
should be heads of families, in order that they might
(24)




DUTIES OF THE HUSBAND.            25
illustrate by example the dignity of woman, her right
to equal companionship with man, the reality and the
beauty of domestic virtue. That, however, which we
would wish to present to the heathen as a just and
favorable specimen of pure religion, we should cultivate
amongst ourselves, not only that we may " adorn the
doctrine of God in all things," but that we may enjoy
the full possession of those social blessings which
Christianity is designed to bestow.
In order to aid ourselves in doing sc, let us consider
some of the chief duties which spring from the marriage relation.
First, in the order of nature and of relative worth, is
that habit of generous affection which the apostle enjoins in the precept, " Husbands, love your wives, and
be not bitter against them."
With some persons it is a cherished opinion that it
is of very little use to give forth any general rule
touching the cultivation of mutual love: that if the
conditions of spontaneous love exist in the natural character, then, where kindred spirits meet, it will thrive
of itself; and that without this preparation for it, no
art, no rules, or practised skill, can call it into being.
This opinion contains a portion of truth. The elements of mutual attachment must undoubtedly be implanted in the heart by the God of nature; but then
it is equally evident that when they are there, they
may be blighted by neglect, or crushed beneath the
heavy tramp of worldly cares and excited passions.
Very truthful to nature, and a just observation of mankind, are the words of the Irish poet;
3




26            DUTIES OF THE HUSBAND.
A something light as air-a look,
A word unkind or wrongly taken,
The love that tempests never shook,
A breath, a touch like this, has shaken;
And ruder winds will soon rush in
To spread the breach that words begin;
And eyes forget the gentle ray
They wore in Hymen's smiling day;
And voices lose the tone that shed
A tenderness round all they said;
Till fast declining, one by one,
The swcetnesses of love are gone;
And hearts, so lately mingled, seem
Like broken clouds, or like the stream
That smiling left the mountain's brow,
As though its waters ne'er could sever,
Yet ere it reach the plain below
Breaks into floods, and parts for ever.
It is not at all improbable that when the inspired
writer of my text addressed the precept which it contains particularly to husbands, it was obvious to his
view that they are more liable than the partners of
their fortunes to become deficient in those things which
strengthen true affection; more apt to assume the
reproving look, the tone of dissatisfaction, thus bearing
to their peaceful homes a little of that chafed temper
which is often caused, amidst the strife of life, by hard
contact with the selfish. and designing, and which is
almost sure to follow, for a little while at least, that
rasping of one's sensibilities which is inevitable in the
collisions of business. The man of active habits and
of many cares, all-engrossed with the concerns of his
own sphere, forgets sometimes the difficulties of managing a house, and the unrelaxing pressure that daily




DUTIES OF THE HUSBAND.            27
comes upon the weaker nerves of her to whom he looks
for some balmy influence that shall soothe and cheer
his own perturbed spirit. And then, a slight disappointment as to the arrangements for his comfort,
either in regard to the punctual observance of his
dining-hour or to the manner of preparing for it, or
as to some omission that has caused a little jar in the
machinery of the household, has been sufficient to
cloud his brow with gloom, and to indicate a sense
of provocation, even though no harsh word gave token
of a ruffled mind. Now, in the hearts of this amiable
couple there may have been a real, a joyous love;
and when their lips pronounced the vows of the sacred
covenant, each may have imagined the other to have
been an angel; and if, at last, they should happen to
discover that they are both imperfect human beings, let
them guard against the shock incidental to a reaction
of the feelings. Let them have a care against brooding over these little infelicities, and magnifying them
beyond measure, so as to give place to a stealthy, mutual disesteem; but let them cherish at once a generous pity for each other's failures, griefs, or weaknesses,
and a brave resolve to soften each other's lot in the
spirit of their plighted faith. Especially let the husband, whose breast is most exposed to boisterous agitation and to the rough play of conflicting feelings,
strive thoroughly to master his own spirit, so that he
be not "bitter" against her whose worldly destiny is in
his hands, and who is, therefore, most keenly sensible
to the effect of every look, word, or tone that may
seem to have an unkindly meaning.




28           DUTIES OF THE HUSBAND.
And here, lest I should fail to mention it in another
connection, I would fain whisper a word of counsel in
the ear of the wife. If such a case as this just alluded
to, or aught akin to it, should ever occur in your domestic history, do not allow a cool or warm retort to
escape your lips, nor let your spirit sink in silent
sullenness, but aim at once to bring the current of
feeling back to its smooth and regular channels; then
forget the past, and let the course of affairs move on
as if its surface had not been rippled.
II. Another duty which the Scriptures enjoin upon
the husband is this: that he make his own homethe home of his heart —in the house where his wife
abides. Thus, an apostle says, "Ye husbands, DWELL
with them according to knowledge." (1 Pet. iii. 7.)
Paul seems to regard a compliance with this precept
as a matter of course on the part of Christian men,
when he directs the wife who wishes information on a
religious subject, instead of calling for it in a promiscuous assembly, to converse respecting it with her
husband at home. (1 Cor. xiv. 35.) All this involves
the idea of intelligent and affectionate companionship.
It implies a habit of instructive conversation. It implies, too, that the man who realizes the character of a
good husband, according to the Christian conception of
it, is not possessed of a restless, roving spirit, which
disqualifies him for the enjoyment of an evening in the
company of his wife or in the bosom of his family.
"The first sure symptom of a mind in health,
Is rest of heart and pleasure felt at home."
It ill agrees with the benign aims of the marriage




DUTIES OF THE HUSBAND.            29
institution for a man to have a house, yet to be virtually, and of his own accord, a non-resident.  Many
an amiable woman, however, finds to her sorrow a
marked contrast between the eagerness with which her
society was sought before marriage and the readiness
with which it is abandoned afterwards. If she be
unconscious of any fault on her part, of any change in
temper or deportment likely to alienate affection, a
corroding grief will inevitably settle upon her spirits.
It may be long concealed, but its stealthy ravages will
be felt. Especially will it be so if haunts of idle dissipation are seen to affect his tastes, to charm him
away from his once-loved hearth, and to be throwing
their potent spells over his wavering mind. Iow can
she resist the dread conviction that to a true home-love
her husband is a stranger; that this finest, strongest
bond of all the social affections is utterly wanting?
The real mental bliss of domestic life he enjoys not;
and the estrangement of his feelings from their proper
centre was aptly expressed by a French nobleman
who was accustomed to visit every evening the mansion of an accomplished widow, the Countess of Rochefort, in order to enjoy her society. As he had been
deprived of his wife by death, it was suggested by one
of his friends that it would be well for him to become
united to the Countess by marriage. " I have often
thought so," he replied; "' but one thing prevents me.
In that case, where should I spend my evenings?"
"Many a truth is spoken in jest;" but this man,
doubtless, expressed his sense of a serious difficulty,
by no means rarely felt in the beautiful land of his
3*




30           DUTIES OF THE HUSBAND.
nativity, which displays such an abundance of gayety
without contentment, of gratification without happiness, of habitations without homes.
What though it be true that the demands of business, and numerous occasions which we need not name
or classify, will often call one away from the society
of his own family? When these calls are yielded to
as cases of necessity, they may be attended with incidental benefits. For then, instead of fostering tastes
adverse to the enjoyments of the family circle, they
will aid in strengthening the domestic affections, and
will incline the heart to welcome the tranquil pleasures
of home-life with a quickened zest. Not so, however,
when absenteeism (to use a word now common in England) becomes a matter of choice. The bonds of sympathy are then gradually relaxed; the affections cease
to play around their proper centre; the force of habit
daily increases the estrangement, and the uneasiness
of a homeless heart verifies the proverb, "As a bird
that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place."
III. Still further, the Christian law renders it ob
ligatory on the husband that he cherish towards his
wife the sentiment of honor. This duty is enjoined by
the expressive sentence, " giving honor unto the wife
as the weaker vessel." (1 Pet. iii. 7.) The command
implies that the wife sustains to the husband not only
a relation of endearment, but also of dignity. The tribute of honor which it claims for her cannot always
be rendered merely by kind words and affectionate
manners. It includes also as a general rule, what io




DUTIES OF THE HUSBAND.            31
commonly called " an honorable maintenance or support." As she is by nature of weaker frame, as her
sensibilities are more lively, her secluded sphere of
duties sufficiently engrossing, it devolves upon the
husband to procure, if need be, by the strength of h]is
arm and the sweat of his brow, the means of an honorable livelihood. "For, if a man provide not for his
own," says Paul, "especially for those of his own
household, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than
an infidel." In barbarous countries, and throughout
the whole realm of paganism, both the law and the
custom are very different. There, the life of the man
is one of lordly and capricious ease, while the life of
the woman is one of toil and slavery. She is either
doomed to hard labor, or kept and decorated as the
toy of leisure and amusement. She may be petted and
caressed; her vanity may be flattered, and every passion may be gratified, but she is seldom honored. Like
Vashti, the beautiful Queen of Persia, whose exaltation
and disgrace are so vividly depicted in the book of
Esther, every wife may be forced to feel that her happiness is the sport of caprice, and that her fate for this
world hangs on the whim of a fitful master. But
Christianity exalts woman to a nobler sphere, reveals
the dignity of her immortal nature, declares with a
voice of authority in the ear of man, "She is thy companion, the wife of thy covenant;" and claims for her
the tribute of honor which is due to the moral grandeur of her mission.
In fiaflling the precept which requires the husband
to give honor tc the wife, in no respect is he under




32          DUTIES OF THE HUSBAND.
more solemn obligation than he is to honor her conscience, and to allow her, as an inalienable right, full
liberty to carry out practically her religious convictions.
For conscience is God's vicegerent in the soul, and
speaks, when it speaks at all, with the tone of supreme
authority. When the mind of a sensitive woman recognizes its voice and is impelled to some some act of
obedience, perhaps by making a profession of religion,
or else by discharging some other sacred obligation,
how pitiable must be her condition if he, whose approving smile, next to the favor of God alone, is her chief
earthly joy, place himself in an attitude of resistance
athwart her pathway I How stern and racking the
conflict of her feelings! The first coming of such a
trial is a great era of her moral history. There is only
one right course for her to take; she must "obey God
rather than man:" and this, if truly enlightened, she
will do with a self-sacrificing, heroic spirit, well knowing that the calm sunlight of a good conscience is worth
more than all the wealth of empires,-yea, worth more
than all the treasures of the most favored earthly home.
Complicate and difficult, however, does such a case
become, if it happen that, through partial ignorance
or a blind fanaticism, she has been led to neglect the
duties which she owes to her husband and her home,
under the plea of religion; for then the sentiment of
right becomes his strong support, even though he push
his demands to the last extremity.  But if she be
blessed with an ordinary share of woman's wit and
common sense, in connection with a high-souled conscientiousness, she will be suscept:ibic of those rome



DUTIES OF THE HUSBAND.            33
dial influences that flow from the teachings of the
Scriptures, which always regard the duties relating to
the family as really a part of Christianity as those
which are performed in the devotional circle or in the
public sanctuary, Nevertheless, in this line of direction, so many men of all ranks of society are disposed
to act the tyrant, that in the marriage ceremony I cannot use the word " obey," in the woman's pledge to
the partner of her life, except as connected with the
qualifying phrase, "in all lawful things;" because it
is never to be forgotten that, far above all domestic,
civil, and social law, the higher law of God stands
forth, laying its obligations on every rational soul, in
its own separate individuality,-" the law of laws,"
invested with the sanctions of eternal majesty, and
uttering its commands in the name of the Supreme Authority of the universe.
Moreover, in honoring the wife the husband should
see to it that he fitly honor the finer feelings of her
nature. The scenes of common life furnish ample
proofs that this hint is not superfluous; so many there
are who err in allowing too little to the discretion of
the wife. They treat her like a child. They seem to
deprive themselves of that element of domestic happiness brought to view in Solomon's fine picture of a
virtuous woman, of whom he says, "The heart of her
husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have
no need of spoil." They deal out their money with
such a pitiful nicety, that she cannot give a cent to any
object of benevolence in which she may be interested,
without asking her husband's opinion, or making it a




34          DUTIES OF THE IUSBAND.
matter of grave discussion. In such a case as this, a
man does not treat his wife as an equal; he does not
honor her with his confidence. He places her in a state
of bondage, at war with confiding love and a proper selfrespect. Of course, if there be an inability on his part
to meet the promptings of a generous nature, she should
be the first to know it, and the last to expect him to do
so. But on this point, the one may misjudge as well as
the other; and, as a general rule, we may safely say
that a man honors himself in paying a tribute of honor
to the judgment of his wife. We have never known
this more beautifully illustrated than it was in the example of a distinguished gentleman who was unhappily
indifferent to the things of religion and to all benevolent enterprises, but whose wife, an excellent Christian
lady, was cordially engaged in promoting them. This
wealthy merchant was applied to by a clergyman for
a donation to a Missionary Society. He refused to comply with the request. He urged various objections,
but concluded by saying, " You may call on my wife;
perhaps she will take a different view of the subject;
and if so, will act according to her pleasure." In relating this incident, the clergyman observed, "I stood
mute with astonishment for a moment or two. I said
within myself, This man ought to be a Christian, for he
has a soul gifted by nature with all the material that is
needful to form a noble Christian, if it were only sanctified and refined by the grace of God."
And while I urge on the conscience and heart of the
husband this precept of Christianity, bidding him to
cherish towards his wife the sentiment of honor, I may




DUTIES OF THE HUSBAND.            38
be allowed to remark that Christianity speaks on this
point with special emphasis, inasmuch as it is her peculiar mission to exalt woman to that position in society
where her influence may be universally felt in promoting the happiness of the race. Situated as most of us
have been, in a Christian country, we can but feebly
conceive of a state of society over which woman exerts
no humanizing influence whatever, in which she has
no rights, and in which, by becoming either the toy or
slave of man, she is made to minister to his debasement
rather than his elevation. In no instance, perhaps,
is the evil effect of man's apostasy upon the relations
of this world more apparent than in this, wherein, as
Milton would express it,
— disproportion'd Sin
Jarred against Nature's chime,
and marred the moral and social harmonies of creation.
Take away from our social state the bland, softening,
and conservative influence of woman, and what is there
left? A wild chaos of brutal appetites and disordered
passions; a condition worse than that of savage life,because the refinements of civilization would but
inflame the lowest propensities without furnishing
any counterpoise to their excess, or any principle to
regulate them.
IV. Last of all, though this consideration be not the
least of all, let it be remembered that the husband is
bound by the divine law to treat his wife as an immortal being, and, therefore, to have regard to her moral




36           DUTIES OF THE HUSBAND.
and spiritual welfare. In those nations of the earth
which form the broad realm of heathenism, and which
are so deeply cursed by female degradation, it is very
evident that this miserable state of things is chiefly the
effect of a superstition which has practically banished
from the common mind the idea of an immortal nature
as the Creator's gift to woman, imparting to her a
moral dignity that transcends all earthly relations.
Although the Koran of Mahomet holds forth the
rewards of Paradise to both sexes, yet his conceptions
of the future world were so sensual, low, and mean,
that the common belief in its existence furnishes no
moral incentives adapted to work out the proper elevation of woman in the social life of the present world.
Not so "the law of Christ."  That exalts domestic
life by shedding around it the light of immortality.
It requires that the husband and the wife should dwell
together "as heirs of the grace of life," and declares
that in that state of "glory yet to be revealed," although
the marriage covenant shall have been dissolved, faithful women shall vie in moral beauty with beings that
have never known sin; that they shall be "even as the
angels."  Can any man have a just sense of the truth
that the partner of his heart, the sharer of his fortunes,
whose earthly destiny is so closely linked with his own,
is, like himself, an immortal spirit; that, after the scenes
of time shall all have vanished from her view like a gorgeous dream, she must enter upon those brighter ones
that shall be for ever expanding in beatific splendor,
or else, if unprepared for them, must dwell in those
glooms realms which our Saviour describes as "the




DUTIES OF THE HUSBAND.           37
otter darkness" of banishment from God and happiness, and yet cherish no lively interest in her education
for the society of heaven? In that remarkable hour
that witnessed the formation of the marriage-union, the
era of separation was anticipated by the solemn vow
which his lips then uttered, that he would cherish the
object of his choice as "the wife of his covenant" in
wedded love "till death should part them." And say,
I pray you, can any true - hearted man thus give his
hand to one of kindred soul, to be the companion of
his pilgrimage onward to the verge of death's dark
valley, and yet have no thought or care as to her preparation to pass serenely through that place of terrors
whither she must go alone, so that even amidst its chill
ing shadows she may greet with joy the glorious destination towhich Heaven beckons her, to which her God
invites her aspirations and her faith? 0 no! To be
indifferent to interests so momentous, he must be destitute of all the higher elements of humanity, and deaf
to all the voices which speak with solemn eloquence
to every listening ear from the heights and depths of
the spiritual universe.
Most aptly illustrative of that aspect of moral sublimity with which a simple religious faith invests the
scene of separation that must come in due time to every
wedded pair, is Cotton Mather's description of the trial
of his own heart when the pall of gloom enshrouded
his abode. Hear his plaintive wail while it dies away
into a strain of heavenly music: "The black day
arrives. I had never seen so black a day in all the
time of my pilgrimage. The desire of my eyes is this
4




38          DUTIES OF THE HUSBAND.
day to be taken from me at a stroke. Hier death is
lingering and painful. All the forenoon of this day
she was in the pangs of death, and sensible till the last
minute or two before her final expiration. I cannot
remember the discourse that passed between us; only
her devout soul was full of satisfaction about her going
to a state of blessedness with the Lord Jesus Christ.
As far as my distress would permit, I studied to confirm her satisfaction and consolation. MThen I saw to
what a point of resignation I was called of the Lord, I
resolved with his help to glorify him. So, two hours
before she expired, I kneeled by her bedside, and took
into my hands that dear hand, the dearest in the world,
and solemnly and sincerely gave her up to the Lord.
I gently put her out of my hands, and laid away her
hand, resolved that I would not touch it again. She
afterwards told me that she signed and sealed my act
of resignation; and though before that she had called
for me continually, after it, she never asked for me any
more. She conversed much until near two in the afternoon. The last sensible word that she spoke was to
her weeping father —'Heaven, heaven, will make
amends for all.'" Ah, what a touching spectacle was
this! Did poetry ever celebrate a scene more radiant
with the glow of moral heroism than that which is
depicted in this plain narrative, which exhibits a frail
woman amidst the agonies of dissolution hailing her
immortality, while the chamber of death becomes to
her the portal of Paradise?
And yet, it may be that some kind and sympathetic
husband who is listening to me new may feel conscious




DUTIES OF THE HUSBAND.            39
while I speak of such an utter want of that deep mental peace inspired by Christian faith as quite disqualifies him to meet in a becoming manner an emergency
like this. If so, then admit, I entreat you, with manly
candor, your imperative and immediate need of the
religion of the gospel in order to be prepared aright
for the relations and duties of life.  Seek this first
of all. Seek it now. The boon of Christ's kingly
grace awaits your acceptance. You may neglect and
reject it; and without it there may be much of earthly
enjoyment in the domestic relations; but how sad is
the thought that it must all so soon and sadly end!
Behold, then, "the one thing needful;" the crowning
qualification for the real, the enduring happiness of
home-life. Make it thine own; let it be "thy chosen
heritage."  Then, indeed, death may break the marriage covenant, but cannot part the happy pair; for
what God hath thus "joined togethel," neither time,
nor change, nor prosperity, nor adversity, nor sickness,
noi death can ever "put asunder."




@uimee of ft~ ttfef
*LET THE WIFE SEE THAT SHE REVERENCE HER HUSBAND."
Ephesians v. 83.
THERE is much of practical wisdom expressed in the
homely Irish proverb, "a man must ask his wife's
leave to be rich." The saying is verified by common
experience. And not only so, but experience proves that
the proverb which asserts a man's dependence on his
wife for the acquisition of wealth might justly take a
wider scope, and declare, without reserve, his dependence
on her for his happiness in all the walks of life. We may
easily imagine him to be the owner of untold wealth,
and that wealth to be as firmly secured as possible
against every hazard; we may picture him forth to the
eye of fancy as having at his command all the means
of gratification that art, science, and a refined civilization can afford; but if the partner of his fortunes be
unfitted for her proper sphere, if she have no heart for
its employments, if her taste and her temper be uncongenial with the unobtrusive virtues that are the essential elements of a peaceful home, his fine advantages
will but enhance his misery, and render the pangs of
(40)




DUTIES OF THE WIFE.              41
disappointment that vibrate through his breast more
subtle and more poignant.
With this truth in view, there seems to be but little
likelihood of our placing too high an estimate on the
importance of the subject that now lies before us; and
while I proceed to exhibit the duties of woman in the
relation of the wife, I will follow chiefly, in the selection of topics, the suggestions of the Sacred Scripture;
a Book which reveals a religion adapted to the scenes
of every-day life, and throws around us its incentives,
lights, and aids to happiness in all our ordinary walks,
as well as in the great emergencies of this mortal state.
The first duty, then, which I commend to the attention of the wife, is correlative with that which I have
urged, first of all, on the regard of the husband: that
which Paul commanded Titus to inculcate on the
young wife of his time, namely, that she love her husband. The expression implies that sincere affection is
to be made a subject of careful cultivation. This precept has fallen on the ears of many who, for the want
of experience or reflection, do not discern its point or
force. They speak of love as being so spontaneous in
its nature that whensoever it hath scope it will inhale
new life from its own freedom, and, therefore, regard
any precept touching its culture as quite superfluous.
They significantly inquire, Can moral, artistic, or religious rules produce real love? But the aim of the precept is not to produce the affection, but rather to guard
against those inadvertences which so often paralyze it;
to anticipate the stealthy influence of those foibles or
infirmities which check its growth; to rouse the mind
4W




42            DIUTIES OF THE WIFE,
to prepare itself for those adverse incidents which
sometimes take the most affectionate couple by surprise, and which, rising suddenly like a dark thundercloud over a lovely summer's sky, change the whole
aspect of that little world which we at once dignify and
endear when we designate it as our home. In the majority of cases where strong mutual attachment has
been followed by coldness, indifference or aversion, the
change has not been brought about by the shock of
some great event, by the blast of misfortune or the
persecution of enemies. These unite more firmly than
ever hearts which are susceptible of genuine affection;
a truth finely commemorated by Irving in his SketchBook, where his lifelike picture of " The Wife" in
scenes of adversity, so beautifully illustrates that poetical saying with which he has graced his page:
The treasures of the deep are not so precious
As are the concealed comforts of a man
Locked up in woman's love.
" There is in every true woman's heart a spark otheavenly fire, which lies dormant in the broad daylight of prosperity; but which kindles up, and beams,
and blazes, in the dark hour of adversity." The companions of a journey cling to each other with courageous sympathy, when called to breast the storm together. But while they move with somewhat weary
steps along life's dusty pathway, engaged, perhaps, in
a jading routine of daily duties, then latent perils lurk
around them. A hasty word followed by a rough or
keen retort, a disappointment about some trifling thing,




.UTIES OF THE WIFE.             43
tn appearance cf neglect produced by concealed yet
corroding care, a want of sympathetic consideration in
those petty trials and annoyances which are rarely understood if not personally felt;-these are the things
which wear harder on the ties of attachment than the
severest shock of outward calamity. Many and touching cases could I recount wherein a wife has received
intelligence of a terrible reverse in her husband's fortunes without a murmur, wherein the blow that sinote
their budding hopes developed the character of each
in nobler proportions, in beauty, strength, and grandeur; but I could speak, too, of instances in which the
heart of the wife was at first pained, then almost alienated or paralyzed by perceiving that her husband could
not apprehend her difficulties, and that he expected
more of her than she could accomplish. If, in the
management of the house, there were any interruption
of order or punctuality, any failure to meet his plans
and wishes, there was, on his part, not only the feeling
of disappointment, but also the look or tone of censure, and some sort of intimation that if he had nothing more to do than to take care of a household, he
could easily make the course of things run smoothly,
and have much leisure on his hands. A careless remark like this has sometimes roiled the springs of feeling more deeply, and called forth tears more bitter than
the most sweeping blast of adversity could have done.
Once I knew a thriving, wealthy man, who deemed
himself to be highly gifted with a talent for management and economy, whose criticisms of this nature
distilled a fatal blight upon an early love that had




44             DUTIES OF THE WIFE.
seemed sincere and strong. I never doubted that their
love, at first, was real. But she was unprepared for
the trials which it was destined to meet. The first
expression that jarred against its harmonies was unexpected. She allowed it to have a more weighty effect
upon her spirits than it deserved, and magnified it by
poring over it in solitude. Her brow was clouded
when it might as well have been serene. In any case
like this, it becomes the wife, and especially the young
and inexperienced one, to remember that it rarely happens that even the most thoughtful person can acquire
a just conception of another's difficulties without having been placed in a similar situation; that much is
to be attributed to her husband's want of thought or
knowledge, rather than want of affection; and that,
therefore, she must not allow the suspicion of alienated
feeling to prey upon her agitated mind. If indulged
at all, it will consume her peace, although her manners
be unaltered; just as the rose which seems so fair without, enwraps the worm that wastes its core. Let her,
at the very outset of married life, be aware of the sober
truth which Cowper has so well expressed:
"The kindest and the happiest pair
Will find occasion to forbear,
And something every day they live
To pity, and, perhaps, forgive."
Therefore, let her guard against a decline of affection by resolving to overlook and forget these little interruptions of harmony, to command her own spirit,
and to keep her heart strong in the exercise of her
early love, in spite of them.




DUTIES OF THE WIFE.             45
The fitness of this precept, which I have quoted and
interpreted, to strengthen by careful culture the prin
ciple of love, must, then, be obvious to us all. In the
days of early acquaintanceship, before marriage, a couple, conscious of spontaneous and mutual attachment,
and enjoying each other's society, may imagine that
their love is unsusceptible of any serious shock; that
it can afford to laugh at cautious counsels, and set
every storm at defiance. Well, this is a delightful sentiment. I would not dispel it by needless alarms. I
would only have the eyes of both open to their liability to perils that have too often proved real, so that
they may be prepared to escape them. Let it not be
forgotten that in days of courtship character is not
thoroughly tried, and that in other circumstances it
may be transformed. It is very agreeable for a gentleman in an evening hour, free from care, to meet the
lady whom he esteems, to enjoy her conversation, to
listen to her strains of music, or participate with her
in some social entertainment, but it is quite another
tlhing to be her daily associate when new responsibilities and new cares thoroughly try her intellect and
nerves, her fortitude and wisdom; and that, too, when
the rasping collisions of an exciting business put severely to the test his own powers of endurance and selfpossession. The vessel newly launched and lying at
anchor in the smooth waters of the harbor may attract
admiration for the beauty of her proportions, the excellence of her trim, and the grace with which she
reposes on the glassy surface of the bay; but when,
with all sails set, having left her port, she encounters




46            DUTIES OF THE WIFE.
the winds and surges of the deep, then comes the
searching test of her character, and not till then are
her weak points, if any there be, clearly brought to
view. In anticipation of such a trial, it is always wise
and safe to give due care to the strengthening of every
part, setting an extra beam here, and a brace there,
where a failure may be feared.
2. Hence, let me proceed to observe that it becomes
a wife habitually to cherish what the Scriptures designate " a meek and quiet spirit." Well does the Apostle Peter praise it as the true ornament of woman; for
nothing so adorns her character in the eyes of men,
and in the sight of God it "is of great price." Nothing invests her with such an all-conquering power;
and without this, even though she may get, she cannot
keep in her hand that moral sceptre which it should
be her pride and joy to wield at home. Without gentleness of soul and manner a mother cannot rule a
child; much less can a wife properly influence a husband. More than she may be aware is she the light
and attraction of his home; and if from her he anticipate, on his entrance there, peevishness, instead of
cheerfulness, the reproving look instead of the smile
of welcome, opposition instead of acquiescence in his
wishes, the charm is broken; and in him there is
strengthened, almost unconsciously, perhaps, the tendency to linger on his way thither, and to leave it for
some "engagement" as soon as he can. There is nothing wonderful in this, for it is a truth which was
penned many centuries ago, that "it is better to dwell
in the wilderness than wvitl a contentious and angry




DUTIES OF THE WIFE.                47
woman," or on "the corner of the house-top than with
a scolding woman'' in a spacious mansion. Pride or
contentiousness is no ornament to a man, but it is
a greater deformity to a woman; yet, in spite of her
gentler nature, it will sometimes rule in her breast; a
fact expressed in the mythology of the Greeks as prominently as it is in our Bible, for they represented not
only the GRACES as female figures, but the FURIES
also.
How aptly, then, has Hannah More touched the
springs of domestic happiness in sober verse:
"The angry look suppressed, the taunting thoughts;
Subduing and subdued the petty strife
Which clouds the color of domestic life;
The sober comfort, all the peace which springs
From the large aggregate of little things;
On these small cares of daughter, wife, or friend,
The almost sacred joys of home depend."
3. But besides all this, the Scriptures enjoin it upon
the wife to "see that she reverence her husband."
This duty is the correlative of that which is enjoined
upon the husband by the precept that bids him to
honor his wife. The sentiment of reverence is to be
cherished on her part, not merely when it may be
called forth by his character as a man, but in view of
the relation formed by the marriage covenant. Wheresoever it is genuine, it will be made manifest not only
on special occasions, and in her general deportment,
but it will express itself also in her words. And
when we speak of words, we do not mean merely what




48            DUTIES OF THE l WIFE.
may be designated by letters and syllables, but also
by enunciation and tone. The injunction forbids that
sort of pertness with which some have been known to
talk about a husband, or, as it has been expressed, to
"talk at him;" a habitude which is inconsistent with
the respect due to the conjugal relation, however often
a man's faults may present fair marks for wit or satire.
I remember once to have been sadly shocked on observing a husband make his own wife the subject of
ridicule in company.  Nor was I less disturbed, in
another instance, on beholding the unnatural sight of a
wife, distinguished among her sex for the gift of speech,
emblazoning the foibles of'her husband with a con versational eloquence worthy of a better theme. " There
is that speaketh like the piercing of a sword, but the
tongue of the wise is health."
But the reverence enjoined in the Sacred Scriptures
relates to conduct as well as to words.  Christianity
found woman universally degraded in the social scale,
and exalted her to a dignified and blest companionship
with man, teaching us that in God's creation of the
first pair, she was taken, not from his head, as if to be
superior to him, nor from his feet, to be beneath him,
but from, his side, to be his equal, a friend and partner
in all the cares and joys of life and love. But if at
any time, unfortunately, there should be a difference of
opinion or conflict of purpose on matters that require
a choice of measures or courses of action, the authority and the responsibility of decision are vested in
the husband. The exigences of life demand that such
authority should. exist somewhlere, and unto hiTm the




DUTIES OF THE WIFE.             49
Almighty committed it originally, commanding the
wife to be "subject in all things."  Keenly searching
indeed is the trial of character if the difficulty arise
from ignorance or unreasonableness on his part; but
then, in such a case, 0 thou more highly-gifted and
favored woman, remember that thou art the wife of
his covenant in plighted faith; and it is better, therefore, to bear the incidental evils of submission with
heroic constancy, rather than abjure thy sacred vows,
or rend asunder the bonds of thy obligation. These
grievous things are an appointed part of thy probation on the earth; they form a fiery crucible of character, fitted to reveal its elements in those aspects of
enduring beauty, purity, and worth, which command
sincere and universal homage.
To this obligation of submission on the part of the
wife, whensoever a difference of judgment unhappily
occurs, there is one important case of exception. It
is when conscience speaks as with the voice of God,
and urges, in his name, and by his clearly revealed authority, the performance of a moral or religious duty.
"All souls are his."  Within the domain of morality
and religion there is but one Sovereign, and it is at the
eternal peril of any accountable being to admit the
supremacy of another. In thl( person of Christ the Divinity was " made flesh, and dwelt among us;" and his
word addresses itself to the heart and conscience of
every man and of every woman, personally and individually, brooking the intervention of no superior authority on the part of man or angel, parent or friend,
husband or priest. He speaks with the voice of ador



50             DUTIES OF THE WIFE.
able Majesty, and says to each and every one,  The
word that I have spoken, the same shall judge thee at
the last day. Whoso loveth father'or mother, or his
own life, more than me, is not worthy of me." But
where the dictates of religion, the voice of conscience
and of God, demand a course of action on the part of
a wife to which the husband does not give assent, her
ready and cheerful submission to him in every other
sphere should prove that it is the spirit of true religion
alone, not self-will, captiousness, or caprice, which rules
in her breast, supports her resolution, and determines
her conduct.
And let it be remembered that the real dignity of
such a motive of action the most irreligious men can
appreciate and laud. The worth of religious principle
as the basis of character in woman has been often acknowledged by those who are very far from practically
admitting its supremacy over themselves. The developments of human nature which they have seen in the
circles of fashion, as well as in other walks of life,
have clearly shown to them that no other principle can
furnish adequate security for the culture of those domestic virtues without which the conjugal relation is
bereft of its charm, home of its sacredness, and the
heart of its peaceful trust.
4. This leads me to observe that the Scriptures inculcate it as the duty of the wife to make it her aim to
please her husband in all things-that is, in all things
wherein compliance is not sinful. Paul says that the
married man seeketh how to please his wife; he assumes
that where there is a right spirit, this disposition prevails




DUTIES OF THE WIFE.             51
as a matter of course. He also takes it for granted that
the wife seeketh how to please her husband. This view of
the subject stretches beyond the limit of definite rules,
and gives to the mind and heart of each free play in
studying how to promote the other's happiness. Love is
inventive. Little attentions, unsought and unexpected,
work mightily the permanent union of kindred minds.
Their power to soothe and cheer, to cast a bland light
over the roughnesses of life, is incalculable. Especially is this effect realized when they often occur at
home.   A  pitiable contrast is sometimes displayed
when those who are very affectionate and polite in
their manners towards each other while abroad, are sullen, careless, or neglectful at home. Nevertheless, let
the wife beware lest she cherish a jealousy as to her
husband's personal attentions. What are they worth
unless they are free? Then leave him to be free-to
act himself, without being teased for attentions. And
yet so winningly may you draw him, that he will follow at your beck, and every thing reasonable will be
graceful and spontaneous. A man's spirit is in a state
of constraint and slavery if he be forced to feel that the
eye even of his wife follows him with a jealous scrutiny, and that she indulges repining and complaint
because she cannot constantly engross him. Chiding
words have sometimes fallen from woman's lips because
a husband has gone forth on a ride, or a walk, or a
journey, or has yielded himself to some social engagement, without due consultation with her, or without
soliciting her company. But all cases of obligation
have their natural limits, which should be observed.




52            DUTIES OF TItE WIFE.
If the Creator had intended no more mutual freedom
than some seem to allow, couples might almost as well
have been linked by nature, like the Siamese twins.
The true moral affinity that unites a happy pair, requires
the atmosphere of freedom; and while they are, in an
interesting and sacred sense, ONE, their wills are free,
their natural tastes remain, and therefore each should
study how to please the other in all things.
This rule evidently extends to the most trifling things
relating to home-life; to dress, carriage, manner, appearance; and all these should be regarded after marriage with as much care as they usually are before it.
Human nature remains the same, and is pleased or displeased with the same things. It applies, too, to that
oversight of the house, that presidency over the family
circle which is necessary to secure there that order and
regularity which will make it a desired and peaceful
home. It is to be regretted that so many young ladies
in our times are content with a fashionable boardingschool education, which is never sufficient to qualify
any one for this honorable position. Even though it
should be very good, as far as it goes, it needs to be followed by a faithful mother's tuition, and that constant
training at home, whereby are imparted the practised
eye and the fine tact which prepare one to make her
house a scene of comfort, the abode of order, peace,
and happiness.
Moreover, in seeking to please her husband, it should
be the aim of a laudable ambition on the part of the
wife, that he should have good reason, in the ultimate
retrospect of their earthly course, to acknowledge




DUTIES OF THE WIFE.             53
with pleasure and gratitude her benign influence upon
his mind and heart, his sentiments, his interests, and
his whole character. One of the finest tributes in the
English language to a woman's moral power, is from
the pen of Sir James Mackintosh, who freely confesses
that he was indebted to his wife for all his success as a
scholar, as a civilian, as a public man; for all that rendered the memory of his career a source of pleasure;
that it was she who roused him from inactivity, encouraged him in moments of despondency, soothed his
irritability, and cheered him on to the pursuit of worthy
aims with unfaltering purpose. If a man of so lofty
a position and of such splendid acquisitions could
furnish this explanation of his success, who shall say
what bounds can be set to the moral influence of a
wedded woman upon the man whose heart she sways
by means of intelligence and love?
But in order to attain so high an end as this, the
wife must qualify herself for conversational intercourse
on subjects congenial with his tastes; on subjects that
shall seem worthy of his regard in hours of retirement
and in his graver moods of mind. For a task like this,
the woman who is the mere devotee of fashion, whose
thoughts are all engrossed with its glitter, its parade,
and its trifling vanities, can have no power or fitness
whatsoever. The idolatry of fashion dwarfs the intellect. It debases the heart. It renders the routine
of life a scene of decorated meanness. Every man of
sense, however worldly he may be, feels this, at times,
in the very depths of his soul; and hence, will be apt
to sympathize with the spirit of the appeal from the
51*




54            DUTIES OF TH'E WIFE.
pen of a celebrated writer (a late member of the English Parliament, Henry Lytton Bulwer, in his work on
France) against the mentally degrading influence of
fashionable city-life. For, says he, "How is it possible that an Englishwoman-such as we ordinarily
find the Englishwoman of London society-how is
it possible that such a woman should possess the
slightest influence over a man three degrees removed
from dandyism and the Guards? What are her objects of interest but the most trumpery and insignificant? What are her topics of conversation but the
most ridiculous and insipid? Not only does she lower
down her mind to the emptiest-pated of the male creatures that she meets, but she actually persuades herself
that it is charming and feminine to do so. She will
talk to you about hunting and shooting-that is not
unfeminine! Oh, no! But politics, the higher paths
of literature, the stir and action of life in which all
men worth any thing and from whom she could borrow any influence are plunged-of these she knows
nothing, thinks nothing-in these she is not interested
at all, and only wonders that an intellectual being can
have any other ambition than to get what she calls
good invitations to the stupidest, and hottest, and dullest of the stupid, hot, and dull drawing-rooms of London. There are, of course, reasons for all this; and I
agree with a late work in asserting one of these reasons to be the practice which all England insists upon
as so innocent, so virtuous, so modest, so disinterested;
namely, " bringing out"-as it is called-a young woman at sixteen, who is ushered into a vast variety of




DUTIES OF THE WIFE.             55
crowded rooms with this injunction:' There I go, hunt
about and get a good' (which means a rich)'husband.'
Of late years this misfortune has been increasing, because fortune and rank are more entirely separated
from talent and education; so that no man, after his
reason has burst its leading-strings, ever now exposes
himself to the insufferable ennui of general society."
These remarks, as to their main bearing and significance, are worthy of regard on account of the source
from which they come, having an impress of candor
which they could not have shown so well had they
proceeded from a French or American author. They
indicate to every Christian reader how much the social
life of the nineteenth century, even in its higher spheres
of rank and wealth, need the refining influence of true
Christianity, so happily adapted to calm its excitements,
to regulate its passions, and elevate its aims. They
indicate, too, to every thinking woman, where lies the
secret of her moral strength. They suggest also, what
kind of self-culture it becomes her to seek if she would
truly please, and in pleasing, exert an enduring influence over a manly mind, so as to command sincere
esteem and fulfil her beneficent mission in the world.
5. Still further, let it be remembered that it is the duty
of the wife to promote, as far as may be in her power,
tne religious welfare of her husband. However eligible
may be the worldly condition of any couple, however
congenial their natural tastes and sentiments, their
happiness is very far from being complete, if, as spiritual and immortal beings, they are destitute of that
"lively hope" of an "unfading inheritance," so much




66            DUTIES OF THE WIFE.
spoken 3f in the Scriptures, which flings its light
across the vale of Death, and irradiates the prospect of
eternity. Can they be happy, when the very thought
of separation at the grave is regarded only as a hostile intruder, whose presence is unrelieved by any wellfounded expectation of a reunion in a higher state of
being? Will it not visit them unbidden? Will it not
cast a pall of gloom over the most brilliant scenes, and
dispel the Enchantments of pleasure? Undoubtedly.
Unless they can aid each other onward in the path to
heaven, "dwelling together as heirs of the grace of
life," their mutual happiness in its best estate is but
superficial, and destined soon to perish like the gorgeous scenery of a dream. And therefore, the question which came of old, from the pen of an apostle,
sounds out an appeal that is fitted to thrill the sensibilities of every true-hearted woman who has assumed
the vows of the marriage-covenant: " Iow knowest
thou, O wife, but thou mayest save thy husband?"
Ponder well the meaning of that appeal. As if it
had fallen upon thine ear directly from the skies, as if it
had come from the lips of an angel flashing celestial
splendors around him. 0 thou highly favored, Christian wife, open thy heart to its weighty import. Let
the eternal welfare of thy husband be an object of
chief regard. Seek it with unfaltering constancy. Be
not easily discouraged. In the pursuit of such an aim
there can be no compensation for the evil of failure,
and success will be worth more than the treasures of a
thousand worlds. If this end shall have been attained,
then, hecr Death shall part you, it will be with the




DUTIES OF THE WIFE.                  57
joyous anticipation of meeting in that glorious realm
where, though there be "no marrying or giving in
marriage," heart is knit to heart, and kindred spirits
mingle in the harmonies of pure, perfect, and immortal friendship. Then may be applied to domestic love
what the poet of Hope has said of his favorite theme:
When yonder spheres sublime
Pealed their first notes to sound the march of Time,
Thy joyous youth began; yet not to fade
When all the sister-planets have decayed;
When wrapt in fire the realms of ether glow,
And Heaven's last thunders shake the world below,
Thou shalt in triumph o'er the ruins smile,
And light thy torch at Nature's funeral-pile.




:uties of A         ar  nts tlo f   ( [i  rcl.
"TRAIN UP A CHILD IN THE WAY HE SHOULD GO, AND WHEN
HE IS OLD HE WILL NOT DEPART FROM IT."-Proverbs xxii. 6.
WHAT a memorable era in the history of a married
couple is the commencement of the parental relation!
It is not easy at a single glance fully to apprehend its
importance. The event is generally a theme of congratulation in the domestic circle, and among the friends of
the family the infant stranger is hailed with a sympathetic welcome. When the first mother gazed upon the
first child, her heart was full of wonder and joy; she
Dressed it to her bosom as a heaven-sent gift, and,
xclaining, "I have gotten a man from the Lord,"
she named him Cain, a word which expresses the idea
of an acquisition. But she little thought of the acquisition of cares and troubles for herself that were
enfolded in the fortunes of that boy, of the elements
of evil that were to gain strength by every throb of that
infantile heart, which seemed to beat in answer to her
own. Fearful was the contrast between the time of
childhood, when she could so naturally indulge the
thought that he had been given to his parents in order
(58)




DUTIES OF PARENTS TO CIILDREN.       59
to beguile them of their wearying toils by his laughing
mirth, his freaks of sportive innocence, and that dark
day when he imbrued his hands in a younger brother's
blood! When we gaze at first upon the winning features of a little child, we are disposed, like Eve, to
predict for it a happy destiny; but sage experience
chastens our glowing;fancies by teaching us that the
complexion of that destiny must depend on the character that shall be formed in youth, and that must be
formed, too, for the most part, under a parent's eye and
influence.
Fond parent, Father I Mother! now engaged from
day to day in watching over the growth and progress
of your little one, and luxuriating in glad anticipations of the time when that child shall walk before
you in all the pride and strength of early manhood,
or in all the charms of accomplished womanhood;
say truly whether or not you have pondered well the
weighty trust committed to you? If there had been
devolved on you by some royal grant the care of educating one who was by birth and blood heir to the
throne of an extensive empire, what words could
measure your sense of obligation touching the duty of
preparing him for that station of power and peril, of
dignity and splendor?  Nevertheless, how low and
narrow is a place like that, of a few years' duration,
compared with the boundless sphere to be occupied by
the spirit of the infant now sleeping in its cradle,
when, having conquered Sin and Death, it shall soar
like a seraph among "the sons of light" on high, or
else, the victim of depraved passions, and "led cap



60      DUTIES OF PARENTS TO CHILDREN.
tive' by the Arch-tempter, he shall go "to his own
plact" with kindred spirits, among the fallen and the
lost!
In view of a responsibility so momentous and thrilling, the saying which forms my text is full of incitement and comfort; full of incitement to action, because
it exhibits definitely and in few words the great duty
of a parent; and full of comfort, because it declares the
moral certainty of a happy result whensoever that
duty is faithfully performed.
Let as consider, then,
I. What is here proposed as the great thing to be
done.
II. The points to be regarded in the doing of it.
"Train up a child in the way he should go," is
the concise and comprehensive precept wherein
divine wisdom announces the chief duty of a parent.
The boldness and strength of expression with which
the effect of a faithful training up of a child is here
affirmed, have been the occasion of perplexity to some
thoughtful minds. It is said, " When he is old he will
not depart from the way he should go;" and they have
found a difficulty as to the verification of this statement. They have cited instances of the best of men
who have been afflicted with undutiful children; here
a father, who has presented to the view of his sons a
spotless example, and there a mother, who has given
to her daughters the most excellent instructions, have
mourned over early hopes blighted by the bad conduct
of their offspring.  " How then," they ask, " can the
words of the text be true?" How can they be made




DUTIES OF PARENTS TO CIILDREN.         61
to tally with the facts of common life?  Still, they
are true, for they state a general law which has as few
exceptions as any law of the moral world. In that
class of cases just now alluded to, however, the precept was not complied with; for there was not in
reality such an education of the whole nature as deserves to be designated by the graphic phrase, "a
training up in the way he should go."   Lecturing,
commanding, entreating, teaching, or setting a good
example, is not training; but it is to use all these and
other means of influence, so as to produce right HABITS
OF ACTION, which is the essential thing in this important work. What is it to train up a child to be a
musician? Is it merely to give him instructions on the
theory of music? No. Is it merely to set before him
an example of fine execution? No. Is it merely to
combine these two things? No. In the days of youth
we might all of us have heard the best lectures on
music, and have witnessed daily examples of its execution by the most celebrated masters both in the
school and concert-room, and yet might never have
become musicians ourselves. Even if by dint of art
and effort we had learned to perform a part for some
particular occasion, we should soon have forgotten it,
just because there had been no training, no formation
of the habits. In accomplishing this task, the voice
of the child is always exercised with artistic skill; he
is drilled on his lessons; his taste is cultivated; his
fingers are habituated to touch the instrument with
effect, and he is taught to realize in action the ideas
suggested to his mind, so that what at first was a slow
6




62      DUTIES OF PARENTS TO CHILDREN.
and hard task is performed with ease and grace, as if it
were the product of a second nature. How often at
the outset has it seemed as if the child had no musical
faculty whatsoever; and yet, in due time, after careful
discipline, with what electrical speed has he been seen
to sweep the chords of a capacious instrument, and to
draw from it such sweetly expressive sounds that one
might fancy the mechanism itself to be full of life and
sympathy! This is all the achievement of a well-educated habit. Just so, with an enlarged application of
the principle, to " train up a child in the way he should
go," is not merely to furnish him with good rules or a
good example, but to unite both; and then to form the
habits of the child in harmony with them by seeing
that ideas are realized in action. And if this be
done, think you that when the child comes to be
"old" he will scale every barrier, and rend every cord
of just restraint which good habits have thrown around
him, and by which they have upheld and guided him
in the days of his youth and prime? As well might
you expect " the Ethiopian to change his skin, or the
leopard his spots." If such a case should occur, it
would attract attention like a monstrosity in nature;
like the African Albino, who, being a striking exception to the law of color, made on the mind of every
beholder a fresh impression of the firmness and extent
of that law's operation.
II. The proverb, then, fitly expresses the results of
a wide observation and of a sound philosophy on the
dominion of habit and on the importance of using
this element of power in the formation of the charac




DUTIES OF PARENTS TO CHILDREN.        63
ter. But in doing this, to what subordinate aims
should our efforts be directed?
1. Essential to success, from every point of view, is
the establishment of the habit of obedience on the part
of the child at an early period. If it be not secured
at an early period, the probability is, that it will not
be acquired at all. And if it never be acquired, there
is but little hope of effectually addressing the reason;
for self-will and passion shall have so far gotten the
start of you, that they will not allow the voice of
parental remonstrance a calm and impartial hearing.
You cannot address the reason of a child until the
period arrive which nature has set for its healthy
development by gradual exercise; but before that time
shall have come, the child may be made the sport of
capricious impulses, or the victim of rampant passions.
These must be checked and regulated by parental
authority alone; else they will soon gain the mastery,
and amidst their harsh din the voice of reason will be
unheard, and its power will be crushed by their rude
tyranny. Perhaps this end may be attained without
severity; but if not, then severity in a tender parent
is the highest form of love. It was the counsel of
true wisdom, we may be assured, that was uttered in
the ancient saying, " Chasten thy son while there is hope,
and let not thy soul spare for his crying."
One of the greatest difficulties in the way of carrying out this advice occurs when a child is weak and
sickly, and perhaps afflicted with an irritable nervous
temperament. In that case its very sallies of impetuous passion make their appeals to pity. But even then,




64      DUTIES OF PARENTS TO CHILDREN.
when parental authority puts forth its demand of
obedience with a calm and firm administration, it acts
in mercy to the child. Such an authority, well-established, is the only proper counterprise to the force of
those stormy agitations which sometimes rack the feeble
frame of the little one, so as not merely to increase its
misery, but to endanger its life. Have you never seen
this illustrated in the nursery or the sick-chamber? I
could tell you of an instance in which an unfortunate
boy, at once the victim of disease and of an exasperated temper, refused to take the medicine which the
physician had prescribed. The mother, who was wont
to indulge him in every thing, had lost all control over
him. All remonstrances, entreaties, and promises of
reward were alike in vain. It was a sad spectacle.
Matters were fast coming to a serious pass; for there
the little fellow lay upon his bed in a state of fearful
irritability, while the disease was every hour extending
its ravages. It was then that the father, just returned
from a journey, after a few days' absence from home,
untered the room. He soon saw the real state of things.'Lt had always been his rule to lay upon his children as
few commands as possible, but at the same time never
to allow a positive command to be disregarded. This
was well understood even by the youngest. In his
intercourse with them he was usually affable and playful; but when that particular tone fell upon the ear in
the calm utterance of a command, it was always followed by prompt obedience. This salutary habit now
developed its power. In its very formation the true
ends of severity had already been gained, and severity




DUTIES OF PARENTS TO CHILDREN.         65
was now no longer necessary. The established habit
saved the boy. The father approached the bed with a
look that expressed his meaning, and the announcement
of his command carried the point at once. The impetuous passion that was feeding the fever-fires as they
coursed through the veins was quelled immediately;
the remedy was administered, refreshing sleep followed
in due time, and the child's life was preserved. Surely,
the establishment of such a supreme parental authority,
so benign in its effect, was worth all the efforts and the
pains it may have cost.
But suppose for a moment that this parent had been
one of that class of persons who adopt the modern
notion that no command must be enforced, and that a
child must be left to have his own way, until the reason can be addressed. It is likely that the life of the
suffering boy would have been made a sacrifice to the
theory. This error of opinion is often openly advocated in our day, but it leads to practical mistakes
which sometimes prove fatal, not only to the order of
a family, but to the mental health and peace of children, and to the formation of all manly or womanly
character. When ungoverned passions riot in the
oreast, they turn all the sweetnesses of life into poison)us gall; and yet,
When reason, like the skilful charioteer,
Can break the fiery passions to the bit,
And, spite of their licentious sallies, keep
The radiant track of glory, passions then
Are aids and ornaments.
But let it be remembered that the passions are strong
6 *




66      DUTIES OF PARENTS TO CI-IILDREN.
before the reason is matured, and that parental authority
is the chief power which God has appointed for their
regulation and control.
2. In this connection I proceed to observe that the
next point to be regarded in the management of a
child is the cultivation of that habit of sef-direction,
without which all modes of education must fail of
attaining their proper end. It should ever be kept in
view that the chief aim of all parental rule is to qualify
the child for self-government. Some kind of government is always necessary; for even the man who has
no power of self-direction must be guided by others;
and in relation to the child, the parents' hands may
relax the reins just in proportion as they see him
growing up to the proper management of himself. In
observing the development of youthful character, this
great test of the value of all educational training
should be steadily regarded. A boy-may appear very
well while he is constrained to subject himself to
domestic rules, and is accustomed to depend upon his
parents for advice in all things; but unless he gradually acquire the power of sedf-cirection, there is a mere
show of education without the reality. Will he not
be exposed, ere long, to enticing temptations?  Will
he not be obliged to cope with the arts of designing
persons? Will he not be called to decide grave questions for himself? How to train up a child so as to
bear responsibility, to act promptly and fitly in emergencies, is one of the most weighty problems which
the parental relation suggests.
From this point of view, it is clear that there may




DUTIES OF PARENTS TO CHILDREN.        67
he too much government as well as too little. In order
to train up a child to exercise this power of self-direction, he must be placed at times in situations which,
in minor matters, will require him to act upon his own
responsibility, and will put to the test, somewhat, his
inclination, his tastes, his judgment and discretion.
One of the finest exemplifications of this rule which
we have ever known, was in the case of a mother who
was accustomed to consult her young daughter on every
occasion wherein it was possible to do so, just as if the
girl had been capable of aiding her deliberations; and
that, too, merely for the purpose of developing the
child's judgment in a practical manner. Thus also,
have I known a father who would arrange errands and
commissions for his son in such a way as to try the
aptitude of the boy to meet emergencies; and then, by
censuring or approving the steps he had taken, sought
to educate his self-directing power. The process was
commenced in early years, and was not without effect
in the formation of reliable character. Sometimes a
kindly criticism of his son's mistakes and failures in
a case where success had been made to appear very
desirable, would accomplish more than a thousand
general lectures. For it is worthy of observation that
oftentimes a person, either old or young, may seem to
have ample knowledge on matters that relate to conduct in life, and yet may fail at the point of action to
put that knowledge forth in practice, on account of
some cherished fault, weakness, or inadvertence, against
which an apt parental discipline would have formed
a lasting safeguard.




68      DUTIES OF PARENTS TO CHILDREN.
3. Another object to be pursued by means of dor:estic
training, is the cultivation of a love of truth. In order to attain this effectually, the moral culture must be
begun at an early period. For there is not a single
vice which the human conscience more universally condemns than lying; and there is not one more universally indulged. In some children this bad propensity
very early displays itself, because the temptations to
its indulgence occur under the parental roof as well as
elsewhere. Yet, in regard to this criminal habit there
is a great difference of constitutional tendencies, even
between those who are twin-born and who are daily
companions throughout the whole course of childhood.
In the same family one may be seen exhibiting a faculty of carrying his points by cunning and trickery,
so as to be habitually tempted to speak with lying
lips, and another under the same treatment will be free
from all arts of evasion, inclined to speak at all times
with that frank and open heart which wins universal
confidence.  But in spite of all natural diversities,
there is no security for the maintenance of a truthful
spirit amidst the snares and the excitements of life, except in that culture of the conscience which leads it to
recognize the supremacy of the law of God. However
finely constituted and balanced the natural faculties
and affections may appear to be, there will be seen, at
last, a fatal failure, if this principle be disregarded.
In the family of the patriarch Isaac, we see an Esau
possessing naturally a bold, manly, transparent character, and a Jacob insidious and deceptive from his
early youth. In the one case we behold a man en



DUTIES OF PARENTS TO CHIILDREN.      69
dowed with the noblest gifts of nature rejecting the
dominion of religious principle, without disguise and
without shame selling his birthright for a mess of pottage; in the other, a man of greater constitutional
faults subjecting himself to the redeeming power of
true religion, and rising, comparatively, to the stature
of manly dignity and moral perfection. From this
ancient fragment of domestic history we are clearly
taught that a human mind, cast in the very finest
mould of Nature, without the renovating power of
religious principle, will become the slave and victim of
"the evil that dwelleth in it;" and, also, that another,
constituted with the very worst dispositions and tendencies, may, by divine grace, gain the mastery of them,
may feel the joy of " saving health," and put forth that
force of moral character which will render one's memory a precious heritage for ever.
Probably, in nothing that relates to the formation of
a moral habit, does so much depend on commencing at
an early period. After a few years' indulgence of the
practice of deception, the conscience becomes callous,
and the mind loses the power of perceiving the nature
and the evil of the thing. Some of the most accomplished villains that the world has seen, who, after a
long career of prosperous wickedness, have been confronted by the effects of their cherished sin in the legal
penalties of fraud, forgery, or perjury, have been brought
to solemn reflection; and then, they have been able to
trace their whole course of degradation to the first lie that
was uttered in childhood beneath the parental roof.
That first lie! It may have been uttered with faltering




70      DUTIES OF PARENTS TO CHILDREN.
lips or with the smile of sportive mischief; it may ha ve
taken the form of deliberate trickery to gain a selfish
end, or the form of a jest, dazzling by its brilliant wit;
if discovered, it may have been treated as a matter of
small account, unworthy of rebuke; but then, it has
proved itself to have been a noxious seed from which
has sprung up a bitter harvest of shame and woe. Let
those, therefore, who have the management of a child,
cultivate in its heart the love of truth; let them see that
it becomes a ruling power of the mind, expressing
itself in actions and manners as well as in speech, developing itself in plays and pastimes as well as on
grave occasions; deeming no incidents that are adapted to strengthen it or put it to the test as too trivial to
be noticed, but remembering that "he who despiseth
little things shall fall by little and little."
4. Another object to be regarded in home-education is
the training of the child to habits of industry. These
are essential equally to happiness and to usefulness.
To the child of fortune and the child of poverty they
are alike necessary. The greater proportion of idlers
who hang as " dead weight" upon society proceed from
the ranks of those who occupy the two extremes of
abounding wealth and abject poverty. But in either
case, idleness is a source of misery. There is no deadlier bane of character. What spectacle can be more
melancholy than that of a mind that is habitually inemployed, without an object to interest its attention or
call its affections into healthful play? Its energies
become introverted; it preys upon itself; it is the victim of ennui; it enjoys more happiness in sickness than




DUTIES OF PARENTS TO CHILDREN.          71
in health, if it can be properly said to have health at
all; for it is a terrible truth commemorated by the
poet who has said,
The vacant bosom's wilderness
Will thank the pang that makes it less.
Hence, if parents would save their children.rom a
state of helpless misery that is likely to come upon
them in spite of all outward advantages, let them begin betimes to cultivate habits of industrious occupation. This is a matter of practical importance which
commends itself more urgently to those heads of families who reside in cities than it does to those whose
home is in the country. For, in the circumstances of
the former class there are greater difficulties to be
overcome, because in days of childhood a city life furnishes but narrow scope for the exercise of a healthy
activity. In the country it is otherwise; a farm is a
capital school for the education of all the faculties in a
useful direction, and it is very easy to cultivate in
children a taste for rural pursuits. It is congenial with
their nature, and is of inestimable value on account of
its general influence on character. The majority of
prosperous men in every city were born and brought
up in the country. Inherited wealth changes hands
more often here than there. This fact enfolds many a
lesson; and among the reasons which may be assigned
for its existence, the habits of industry which are
formed by country life must hold a prominent place.
Let parents remember, therefore, that a taste for industry is a most healthful virtue; that idleness is a sin




72       DUTIES OF PARENTS TO CHILDREN.
and shame; and that the old Scripture-saying is as true
now as ever: "The desire of the idle KILLETH him, because his hands refuse to labor."
5. Moreover, it should be the aim of the parent to
cherish in the heart of the child a love of home that
shall "grow with his growth," and become by habit
the ruling passion of his " second nature." When the
parental household realizes, in regard to the child, the
true idea of a home, the very sound of the word becomes music to his ear; it stirs the heart of youth like
an enchanting melody, softens the cares of manhood,
and kindles rapture in the bosom of age. The strongest, the most self-relying and heroic men and women
that have ever lived have been distinguished by this
powerful sentiment. You may meet with wealthy
loungers in foreign lands who seem to have no home;
they are eager in the chase for pleasure; they rove
from city to city; they drift with the impulses of fashion or fancy; but these genteel vagrants feel dreadfully the burden of life; they have no worthy object
of pursuit, no moral centre around which their affections play, and they waste their energies on vain experiments to be happy. They verify the sober strain
of a mirthful American poet:
He that is weary of his village plain
May rove the Edens of the world in vain;'Tis not the star-crown'd cliff, or cataract's flow,
The softer foliage or the greener glow,
The lake of sapphire or the spar-hung cave,
The brighter sunset or the broader wave
Can warm his heart whom every breeze has blown
To every shore, forgetful of his own.




DUTIES OF PARENTS TO CHILTEN.         73
A child in whose heart the love of home has no
place, lacks one of the strongest conservative principles of human character; and if God's special grace
does not interpose to save him, he will surely become,
like the doomed Cain, a vagabond in the earth.
The time that is included between twelve and twenty
years of age is, in some respects, the most critical
period of any one's moral history; for, although in
the previous years a controlling bias may have been
given to the character, the mind has not become so
hardened in fixed habitudes but that fresh and lasting
impressions may yet be made. And therefore, amidst
all the new acquaintanceships and relationships that
are then forming, spare no effort, no reasonable expense that may be requisite to keep your child's affections clustering around the home of his youth. Let it
be made, as far as possible, a scene of employment and
enjoyment. There let his healthy tastes find fit objects of gratification. There let his social nature joyously unfold itself. There let sympathetic and confiding
intercourse throw its subtle spells around him. Let
him have the management of his own property, however small its amount; whether it be merely a chest of
tools, a museum, or a library. Let books, or music,
or other proper means of recreation not be denied, if you have power to grant them. Alas, how
many parents, in these things, are "penny-wise and
pound-foolish!"  Iow can we neutralize the power
of those fatal enticements that beset the paths of the
young on every side, except by investing the familycircle with the finest attractions that we may commrand?
7




74      DUTIES OF PARENTS TO CHILDREN.
For what if, through the harsh restraints and gloomy
repulsiveness of the household, our sons and daughters
seek their company and their recreations chiefly in
other places? Who can tell what moral atmosphere
they will inhale? Whether their associations shall be
good or bad will be to us a mere matter of chance;
and then, how easily all their lively sensibilities may
become elements of ruin by being alienated from parents, brothers, sisters, friends, from the ways of virtue,
from the sanctuary, and from God, by means of vile
companionship! The more we consider this one aim
of which we speak-by far too much overlooked-the
more does it loom up to view with an aspect of impressive magnitude, so that in the pursuit of it there is
no liability to extravagance; and therefore do we say,
let this point be carried at any cost, since a failure
here will be pretty sure to balk your efforts in every
other direction.
6. Still further, it should be the constant aim of
parents in domestic training to form the character of a
child on the basis of religiousprinciple. " Other foundation can no man lay." " The fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom."  Here only is solid rock; " all
is sea besides." Nothing else will beat back the surges
of temptation, or endure the fiery trials of calamity
and disappointment. The highest degree of worldly
wisdom, the strongest incentives of worldly interest,
the fondest associations of worldly friendship, will all
give way in some emergencies; nothing can withstand
the wear and tear of character in the sharp collisions
and sirocco-like excitements of this changing life,




DUTIES OF PARENTS TO CHILDREN.         75
except the energy of religious faith. Even Infidelity
itself, in its solemn moods, has paid its tribute of homage to religion, in the acknowledgment of this truth.
Yes! as Voltaire has expressed it, "the LAW which
follows a man beyond the sight of his fellows, and takes
cognizance of the actions which are secret, is the law
of religion;" and a sincere regard for this is essential
to all effective self-government, whether of the corn'
munity or the individual. There are times when nothing can hold the soul back from sin and crime except
that principle in the heart which led the young Israelite to exclaim in the ear of the tempter, "H ow can I
do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" On
this account it is that the deliberate desecration of the
Sabbath is so often the first step, in a descending series, of a long criminal career. With what a melancholy moan was this truth confessed by a New England
pirate, in his dungeon, awaiting his execution, when
he said, "Sabbath-schools came fifteen years too late
for me."  The time had been when he seemed incapable of the deeds which led him to the scaffold; and
the most amiable youth who goes forth into the world
without the guidance of religious principle has not
sufficient power to cope with the wiles of sin, but will
be likely, in an unexpected moment, to stumble, to
fall, and "be destroyed without remedy."
Nevertheless, when the aims which have now been
set forth are steadily pursued by means of religious
culture, by the inculcation of the Saviour's teachings,
by example, discipline, and prayer, the parents may
expect success. 0, let them remember that these must




76      DUTIES OF PARENTS TO CHILDREN.
all be united. And in the employment of these means
it becomes both the parents to act together.'Vhat a
sad spectacle of domestic life is seen when one imparts
religious instruction, and the other baffles it with ridicule or witticism; when one by means of example
allures the young in the path to heaven, and the other
treads the way of transgressors; when one aims to
strengthen the child's character by a well-adjusted discipline, and the other weakens it by indulgence; when
one seeks God's help by prayer, and the other turns
away from the closet, the family-altar and the sanctuary!  Hard are life's burdens then to the faithful parent, and life itself may be so to the poor child of their
mutual love. Still, let the prayerful not faint, but continue to implore the grace of God. On the other hand,
what a lovely scene is that which greets the eyes of
angels and of men, when an intelligent and happy pair
unite to train their offspring.for the skies; when the
healthful atmosphere of an earthly home prepares the
young immortals who breathe it for the purer climate
of the New Jerusalem; when the whole family are
moving onward to the glorious destinations of thai
final day in which the faithful parents shall stand with
joy before the throne of the universe, saying, "Lord,
here are we and the children thou 1'ast given us 1"




But es of $t~br                to     arernts.
"CHILDREN, OBEY YOUR PARENTS IN THE LORD: FOR THIS IS
RIGHT. HONOR THY FATHER AND MOTHER, (WHICH IS THE
FIRST COMMANDMENT WITH PROMISE,) TIIAT IT MAY BE
WELL WITII THEE, AND THOU MAYEST LIVE LONG ON THE
EARTH."-Ephesians vi. 1, 2, 3.
THE subject which I now approach is one which has
an intimate connection with the welfare of every
community, and claims for itself a share in the regards
of every individual. We have all been called to the
discharge of filial duties; for, although some of us may
have been orphans from our infancy, there are, or there
have been, those to whom we owe acknowledgments
of gratitude for the care that they have taken of us.
To this remark there are very few exceptions; and if
it were so that many of us could cite our personal histories as furnishing cases of exception, even then, the
motives of philanthropy and patriotism, not to say of
religion, should lead us to cherish a sympathetic concern in seeing that filial duties are properly inculcated,
understood, and practised.  For, wheresoever these
are neglected, wheresoever the prevailing tone of social
7*                        (77)




78      DUTIES OF CHILDREN TO PARENTS.
sentiment treats them lightly, there, public immorality, rampant passions, crime and disorder will surely
reign like fiends keeping an incessant carnival. As
in the house of Eli, the insubordination of his sons
arrayed the agencies of Providence against the family;
so that they fell together in a common overthrow, thus,
in a community, the prevalence of unrestrained selfwill in childhood will dissolve the ties of society, and
issue in a general ruin. " Honor thy father and thy
mother," is the first commandment of the second table
of the law, and the first to which is annexed a promise
of prosperity. Although the rewards of filial obedience are not so obvious now, in relation to individuals,
as they were under the Jewish economy, yet the temporal welfare of a nation or a community is seen to be,
now, as much as ever, dependent on fidelity to this
precept. This established connection was not hidden
from the view of the heathen world. A filial spiiit
was the leading feature of that ideal standard of virtue
which the Romans celebrated in poetry and in song;
a spirit fostered in youthful breasts by the story of
their great ancestor, who, on account of the love he
displayed in bearing an aged father on his shoulders
away from the wreck of burning Troy, was distinguished in many a lyric strain as "the pious AEneas."
And while the intelligent heathen can honor the beauty
and grandeur of such a trait of character, God, in his
written word, threatens a bad end to those who set it
at naught. " The eye that mocketh at his father and
despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley
shall pluck it out al i the young eagles shall eat it "




DUTIES OF CHILDREN TO PARENTS.        75
a sentence which gives forth the intimation that with
an undutiful child the irrational creation, the elements
of nature, and the workings of Providence shall surely
be at war. But amongst all the enchanting pictures of
social happiness which this world exhibits, is there one
that stirs the heart with a delight more exquisite than
that which is awakened by beholding a group of children, intelligent, amiable, affectionate, united in honoring
their parents, ministering to their comfort amidst the
infirmities that increase with advancing years, smoothing their pathway to the tomb, thus enabling them in
the season of tremulous old age to renew their youth,
and to live over their life again by identifying their
very being with the prosperity of their offspring?
My young friends, already has it been my aim to
lay before your parents a few considerations touching
your welfare, suggested by the precepts, hints, and
maxims of the Scriptures; allow me now to call your
attention to the duties which you owe to them.
1. The first obligation that I urge upon you in this
connection relates to the heart. Love your parents;
and cherish this sentiment habitually as a principle of
action, in spite of every opposing influence. Guard
sedulously against every thing which would tend to
wean your affections from them. In addressing
parents, I did not lay much stress on the obligation to
cherish parental love; for a parent's love is instinctive
and controlling. As soon as the infant's cry reaches a
mother's ear, she is conscious of a self-devoting love
which can " endure all things;" which makes light of
toil and weariness, tedious vigils, care and pain, and




SO       DUTIES OF CHILI: REN TO PARENTS.
deems no sacrifice too costly to be yielded for the wellbeing of its object. The love of the father, too, takes
deeper root with advancing years; and, as the responsibility of support and counsel is made to press more
weightily upon him by the expansion of youthful character, parental affections gain daily vigor without
much effort for their cultivation. Even the most reckless and ungrateful conduct, instead of destroying them,
will often develop their native strength; a truth illustrated by that plaintive strain which broke from the
heart of David on the death of Absalom. Such is their
vital force, that special care is requisite to give them a
right direction. But that very love, in its earlier dealings with you, was obliged very often to cross your
feelings, to control your passions, and, before you
could in words express your wishes, to deny you many
hurtful things which you sought to gain by sobs and
tears. It was parental love, however, as real and as
tender, when in time of sickness it administered the
bitter medicine which you struggled against, as when
at other times it won your smile by joining in your
sports or by giving you curious toys and picture-books.
In some of its aspects, therefore, it seemed to be severe,
and failed, perhaps, to draw forth from you any return
of grateful love. Nay, at times it may have provoked
a degree of sullen anger; it may have roiled the
springs of feeling so that they poured forth streams
of bitterness. Hence, on your part, such love as they
deserve, in order to thrive healthfully, must needs be
cultivated. With the early dawn of reason you began
to have the capacity of doing this; and the work of




DUTIES OF CHILDREN TO PARENTS.       81
self-culture is carried forward by reflecting frequently
on the relation which they sustain to you; by remem.
bering how deep and abiding is the place which you hold
in the heart of each of them; how much your misery
would affect them; how much a surly word from you,
or any rudeness of manner, must disturb their peace;
how much their happiness is in your keeping; how
much they have done for you and still would do to
promote your welfare. If your sensibilities have become seared, cherished memories like these will quicken
them afresh, and will stir, as if by some magical or
seraphic touch, those finer chords of feeling that still
lie hidden in the depths of your nature.
And as you now look abroad over the wide word, is
it at all probable that, among its thousand millions of
inhabitants, you can find one friend more disinterested
in regard to your real welfare than your father or your
mother? You may find many who are possessed of
more talents, or more money, or more of certain qualities
congenial with your tastes; you may find those who
have it in their power to confer on you more signal
benefits; but where can you find hearts that throb with
so pure a love for you as those of your own parents?
Oh, how often has it been seen in the course of human life
that the youth whose affections had become estranged
from his own family, who had gone like a "prodigal
son" away from his father's house, who amidst scenes
of success and gayety had found friends to flatter him
and to bask in the sunshine which he could spread
around them, after having become a broken-down and
disappointed man, wrecked in health and fortune, after




82      DUTIES OF CHILDREN TO PARENTS.
having become deserted and forlorn, has then returned
with blasted hopes to receive the kindly sympathies
which were as yet flowing but from a single source-a
parent's heart 
If we take a look at the histories of men whom the
world, at any period whatsoever, has owned to be
truly great, it will appear to be worthy of notice how
much all the rugged and sterner qualities of their character have been relieved, and harmonized into a pleasing unity, by the softening hue and glow which the
grace of filial love has thrown around them. Humanity, everywhere, both in Pagan and Christian lands,
acknowledges the moral power of this sentiment. The
study of Grecian history afforded to the educated classes
of the Roman people a pleasure as intense as that
which is enjoyed by the scholars of our own land; and,
among the leading men of Greece, to whom did the
Romans award the palm of excellence! Cicero affirms that Epaminondas was the greatest of them all.
But then, let it be remembered that filial virtue was
the crowning glory of this noble Theban; for, when
he was asked on the day of his most signal triumph
what it was that gratified him most, he replied, that it
was the consideration of that pure joy with which his
success would be hailed by his father and his mother.
By that confession he has won his way to the hearts
of mankind, who have always delighted to honor him
because he never sunk the character of the man in that
of the soldier or the statesman. A similar tribute of
admiration has been, and ever will be, paid to our own
Washington, whose profound regard for his mother,




DUTIES OF CHILDREN TO PARENTS.       83
cherished amid all the cares of the camp, and all the
splendors of civil dignity, indicated that simplicity of
real manliness which is an essential element of true
greatness.
The master painters of Europe have found favorite
themes for the pencil in those incidents which distinguish the simple story of the patriarch Joseph, and
which lay hold of every reader as by the fascination
of romance; but there is no scene of that touching
biography more worthy to be pictured on the canvas
by the hand of Genius than that wherein the viceroy
of Egypt exhibits the spirit of filial heroism, while he
].  the good old shepherd and wayworn pilgrim into
the court of Pharaoh, and with grateful pride presents
him to the monarch as his father. One of the finest
relics of ancient pastoral poetry is that lyrical strain of
Ruth in which she breathes forth her spirit of devotion
to Naomi, her bereaved mother-in-law. " Entreat me
not to leave thee, or to return from following after
thee; for whither thou goest I will go, and where thou
lodgest I will lodge: thy people shall be my people,
and thy God my God: where thou diest will I die,
and there will I be buried; the Lord do so to me, and
more also, if aught but death part thee and me." This
filial sentiment, whether it appear in man or woman,
invests one's character with an aspect of beauty, dignity, and sacredness.  How much it must have elevated royalty itself in the eyes of all, when it was announced to Solomon, while at the height of his power,
that -his mother asked an audience of him: "And the
king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her,




84~T     DUTIES OF CIII.DREN TO PARENTS.
and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set
for the king's mother; and she sat on his right hand."
Such an act of filial reverence as this is adapted to wil
the sympathies of man universally, whether he be in a
state of civilization or of barbarism; for every human
being whose heart has not been paralyzed by vice or
crime will unite in the wish so well expressed in Pope's
celebrated strain:
"Me let the tender office long engage
To rock the cradle of reposing age;
With lenient arts extend a mother's breath,
Make languor smile, and smoothe the bed of death;
Explore the thought, explain the asking eye,
Ani keep awhile one parent from the sky."
2. Having taken a proper care that the ground-work
of a truly filial character be laid in the principle of
love, resolve, I pray you, practically and habitually to
regard the command which enjoins obedience to your
parents. In doing this, set before your view a high
standard of attainment. Be not content with moping
inefficiency. Aim at perfection, in spite of all failures
to reach it; like the artist, who, when he detects the
blemishes of his work, renews his efforts for improvement. The divine precept is, " Children, obey your
parents in the Lord; for this is right."  Every mind
is so constituted as to see at once that it is in harmony
with the laws of nature that the young and inexperienced should obey the older and the wiser; and besides, independently of these qualities of condition,
that the parental relation itself lays an additional obli




DUTIES OF CIIILDREN TO PARENTS.       85
gation on the conscience. In helpless childhood obe.
dience is a necessity. The young of all animals,
whether they be beasts or birds, wild or domesticated,
are instinctively obedient. The eagle " stirring up her
nest," in order to teach her young to fly; the hen
gathering her obedient brood beneath her wings, in
order to shield them from danger, have furnished to
the ancient poets some of their choicest imagery. But
in the education of the human race, as children with
advancing years become capable of resistance, obedience is enjoined as a DUTY, and is expected as a free
tribute of the heart and conscience, because "it is
right."
This obedience, let us observe, young friends, in order
to have any real worth, so as to be pleasing to God or
man, must be voluntary and cheerful, A precept may
be fulfilled to the very letter with minute exactness,
and yet the beauty of obedience may be destroyed by
sullenness. This is folly; it is a wanton waste of the
means of happiness, very much like that which ap.
peared in the case of an eminent man, of whom it was
observed just after he had conferred on another an
important favor, " He always spoils a good thing by
the rough and hateful manner of his doing it!" So
a sullen or a murmuring compliance with a parent's
wish, carries on its face no aspect of pleasantness, That
which is worth doing at all is worth doing well. Spoil
nothing by ill-grace. "Let not your good be evil spoken of." To obey when the direction chimes exactly
with your own inclination is a thing that may very
easily be done; but to deny yourself, to school your
8




86      I)UTIES OF CHILIDREN TO PAEENTS.
feelings into a ready subjection to parental authority, is
a task which furnishes a fine opportunity for the discipline of the heart, and for the formation of a selfgoverning character. And in the relation which you
occupy, this is the very work your Maker requires
of you. The youth who does this, strengthens within
his heart the principle of rectitude. He learns to act
habitually in view of what is RIGHT. He is forming
gradually a noble, manly, and enduring character,
which will render him the strength and joy of his parents in their declining years, will qualify him to resist
temptation, to bear misfortune, to improve success, to
enjoy aright the sunshine of life, or brave its desolating
storms.
In accordance with the teachings of Scripture, obedience should be universal. " Children, obey your parents in the Lord in all things." The terms here used
deserve attention from this point of view, because they
imply that to this law of filial obedience there may be
just cases of exception. The exception which the
terms imply is that of a case wherein a command is
contrary to the known will of God. In such a case,
compliance would not be obeying our parents in the
Lord. Then, obedience would be wrong. A parent
should be careful never to constrain a child to act
against his conscience. Admitting that the child's conscience be erroneous, it is not to be corrected by force.
The error may be unfortunate, but in the long run,
force will only make the matter worse by confirming
that error, and by awakening in the youthful breast
the resistance of a i^artyr-spirit. If any of you, my




DUTIES OF CHILDREN TO PARENTS.       87
young friends, should ever be constrained, unhappily,
to differ from your parents in regard to principles of
religion, or the performance of a religious duty,.et me
commend to you two important rules of action. (1.)
The first is, that you should resolve to submit to them
as far as you possibly can do so, while under age, without offending God. Renounce, if it be necessary, every
thing that may be regarded as a mere privilege; if
you pursue a course that is opposed to their wishes, let
it be only in obedience to the voice of Duty. We
have a fine example of this rule in the story of the lad
who was bidden by his father to commit an act of theft,
by taking some small article that was the property of
another. The son expressed some fear that he might
be detected. "Put it in your pocket," said the father.
"God can see in my pocket," answered the conscientious boy, and thus maintained his integrity. (2.)
Then, again, in all cases where parental authority
seems to come in conflict with that which is Divine, let
your conduct be meek, quiet, courteous, and obliging.
Guard well your temper, words, manners, and the general spirit of your deportment. If your parents perceive that your actions proceed from right feelings of
heart, from the supreme dictates of conscience, and
profound reverence for God, they will probably sustain you by their kindly sympathies, although they
may not coincide with your religious opinions. Have
a special care, in such a case as this, that you exhibit
the spirit of true religion at home, in all the manifold
forms of filial and domestic virtue, so that you shall
thus illustrate Christianity in daily life, and " adorn the




88      DUTIES OF CHILDREN TO PARENTS.
doctrine of God in all things." Then, if, on the one
hand, you shall have been misled by some false views
as to the course of duty, you will be most likely to
discover and correct your errors; and, on the other
hand, if your " steps shall have taken hold of the way
of truth," you will find your way irradiated by increasing light, and your heart cheered by more signal tokens
of the favor of Heaven. If God be for you, who can
be against you?
3. In addition to these leading and subordinate precepts, Christianity requires that you HONOR your parents by spontaneous and generous efforts to promote
their happiness. Others may honor them as friends, as
neighbors, citizens, or members of society; but whether others do so or not, it is yours to honor them as
parents by a studious accommodation of your conduct
to their tastes and wishes. Even though you may think
them to be deficient in many things, such as mental
strength, knowledge, or judgment, yet the parental relation requires you to pay respect to their opinions and
their feelings. It is a revolting spectacle that some
households have exhibited, when parents whose lot in
early life has been a lot of toil and hardship, having
used the means which they have industriously acquired
in order to impart to their children the best education
which the country could furnish, have then been
thoughtlessly ridiculed by those very children on
whom they had lavished their money.in conferring
superior advantages. Such young persons painfully
verify the old Grecian fable which tells us of a coun.
trymar who kindly placed a frozen serpent in his




DUTIES OF CIILDREN TO PARENTS.       89
bosom, warmed it into life, and then suffered from its
sting. Too often, indeed, such a sad result might have
been anticipated from the influence of some fashionable boarding-schools, which cultivate the intellect, the
imagination, and a taste for showy accomplishments,
but which actually benumb the moral sense, and leave
the heart like an aboriginal wilderness, luxuriant
only in the beauteous bloom of poisonous vines and
flowering briers. But then, to the eyes of every truehearted man or woman, there is no sight more grateful
and refreshing than that of children who, having enjoyed fine opportunities of education, do all that lieth
within their power to conceal the defects and blemishes
of a parent, and challenge for the parental character
the fit tributes of honor and esteem.
Let it not be forgotten that the rule which requires
you to honor your parents implies a due regard to your
manners in their presence. For often, when one's words
are decorous, the expression of the countenance, the
tones of the voice, the general bearing and deportment
leave a disagreeable impression. It is a great mistake
which some commit to treat these things as unworthy
of notice, for they are really essential elements of that
home-life whose subtle influence hangs around our
spirits as a murky and depressing gloom, or quickens
them like a genial and invigorating atmosphere.
In following out this precept, it may be requisite that
you should aid your parents by your habitual industry. If so, do it with a willing heart and a ready
hand. Who can tell how much it may be in your
power to make the course of household affairs run
8*




90      DUTIES OF CHILDREN TO PARENTS.
smoothly? We have often seen that the placid temper and the cheerful services of a child are like oil
on the springs and wheels of some delicate machinery, allaying much of its harsh friction, and saving
much of the "wear and tear" to which it is liable.
Whensoever any errands are committed to you, however minute they may be, perform them promptly.
Cherish a habit of punctuality. Avoid being drones
in any thing; but whatsoever you undertake, aim to
do it well. If you are made the bearer of a message,
deliver it correctly; if an answer is to be returned,
be careful not to forget it or mistake its meaning.
If any service like this be expected of you, why should
you loiter by the way, to waste your time in talk,
or play, or in gazing at the shop-windows? In all
these matters, you are forming, during the season
of youth, those habits which shall rule over you in
following years, and establish your character, for
good or for evil, throughout the whole course of
life.
Honor their opinions, too, as to those matters which
concern your welfare. Do not tease them for money,
or for expensive dress, or for indulgences which they
cannot grant with a good conscience and a willing
heart. It is not without reason that I speak of these
things; for, even now, I can well remember one of my
school-mates who would often boast that he could
always " carry his points" with his father, so as to get
any thing that he desired. In the school it was a common saying that he was " flush in cash;" his pockets
and his desk were generally filled with costly confec



DUTIES OF CHILDREN TO PARENTS.       91
tionery which he would distribute liberally. Thus he
gained many friends; for he was naturally generous.
His youth seemed to pass like one bright holiday; and,
on this account, how often have I known him to be
envied by the other scholars, whose parents were less
wealthy, or less indulgent! But, after all, the retrospect is a gloomy one. This whole course of gratificacation was ruinous to my young companion, who, in
early manhood, became the victim of morbid appetites;
"a hale fellow well-met" in the circles of fashionable
dissipation, and then "died before his time." He was
destroyed by indulgence. The whole story of his
untimely end may be compressed into this single statement: the kind-hearted boy was too successful in persuading his parents to yield to all his wishes, contrary
to the dictates of their better judgment.
Moreover, my young friends, since I have not forgotten to suggest to your parents that it is their duty
to consult for your happiness by furnishing you, at
home, with all the means of enjoyment which they may
properly command, I may now freely say to you that
the honor which you owe to them requires that you
should consult their feelings in regard to the conmp any
that you invite to the house. Be careful not to grieve
them by introducing into the family-circle associates
whose character your parents cannot approve, and
whose influence they may dread. A similar remark
applies to the boo7cs which you may carry home; for,
if their love for you is breathed in prayers for your
welfare, would they not be troubled to see you disposed to give up your mind and time to the reading




92      DUTIES OF CHILDREN TO PARENTS.
of such vile trash as passes under the name of " new
novels," of popular literature composed by unprincipled men whose trade it is to pander to the lowest
passions-men who would not hesitate, if they had the
chance, to take your life by poison or the dagger, in
order to obtain the means of one night's revel?
Having thus called your attention, as far as the limits
of this occasion will allow, to the duties of the filial relation, let me add, that if any of them should hereafter
seem to be irksome, or to require the exercise of selfdenial, fail not, at such a time, to remember how much
a regard to your happiness has been to your parents an
incentive to toil and self-sacrifice. Many a father who
has been as one wearied unto death by the cares of
business, weak and faint in spirit while grappling with
difficulties, on the point of sinking into gloomy despondency, has been nerved to hard endurance by the sight
or thought of his children, by the desire to prepare
them for a happy and a useful life. Your mother, too,
loves you as no earthly being can love. Iad she
spared herself, cared for her own ease, and remitted
her watchful oversight of you during many a tedious
night of your infancy, you might have been now halting as a cripple, or groping as the blind, or pining
with disease, or moving about with the vacant stare of
idiocy. Surely, then, a filial spirit is one element of
real manliness; a truth which the world has acknowledged in its admiration of that sentiment which was
expressed by Alexander the Great to his friend Antipater, in answer to letters filled with complaints touching the conduct of Olympias, the monarch's mother.




DUTIES OF CHILDREN TO PARENTS.          93
"Knowest thou not that one tear of my mother will
blot out a thousand such letters."
But then, while you lay to heart these filial obligations, and resolve that you will aim with all diligence
to fulfil them, remember, I pray you, your dependence
on the grace of God for the strength that you need in
order to carry into effect your own determinations.
For all our determinations to do good, or to pursue a
virtuous course, may seem to have a mighty force while
we enjoy the musings of our quiet retreats, or while
we are surrounded with social influences that are congenial with our better feelings. Nevertheless, the time
of trial, "the hour and power of darkness," will come
to all. The pleasures, the cares, the excitements of
life, the development of latent tastes and passions,
absence, distance, new scenes, and new society, will
furnish many a temptation to neglect or violate oui
best resolutions. Religious principle, or, as the Scriptures express it, "the grace of God which bringeth salvation," is the only reliable source of moral energy.
This endures for ever. To impart this to man, Jesus
Christ came into the world. Every change in human
life, every example of human weakness, every new
phase of human experience, discloses a deeper signifi.
cance in that monitory lesson which He has given unto
us: "Abide in me, and I in you; as the branch cannot
bear fruit except it abide in the vine, no more can ye,
except ye abide in me."   No man cometh unto the
Father but by Him. Will you not, therefore, with a
simple-hearted, childlike faith, commit yourself to his
guidance?  Since it requires no very careful observa



94     DUTIES OF CHILDREN TO PARENTS.
tion to behold around us on every side the withered
buds of early promise, the blight of parental hopes, the
deadly blast and utter ruin of many a youthful character, " Wilt thou not from this time cry unto Him, My
Father, thou art the guide of my youth?"




lfties     of      r to ers   all   B   isters.
"BEHOLD HOW GOOD AND HOW PLEASANT IT IS FOR BRETHREN
TO DWELL TOGETHER IN UNITY."-Psalm cxxxiii. 1.
THE very word brother has a sound which stirs the
i heart. Where is there a human bosom that is utterly
insensible to the power of its appeal? The Arab of
the Eastern deserts, and the Indian of the Western forests, alike answers to its call; and if a stranger in a
strange land, whether amidst the marts of commerce or
the solitudes of the Rocky Mountains, should hear a
human being of any tribe or color hailing him by that
name, he would interpret it at once as the sign and
pledge of friendship. Three thousand years ago, when
a cause of contention arose between two chieftains on
the fields of Canaan, the difficulty was removed by
Abraham's saying unto Lot, "Let there be no strife
between us, for we are brethren;" and ages afterwards,
when Moses sought as a legislator to chasten the feelings of the Israelites towards a rival nation, he proclaimed, " Ye shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is thy
brother." Even the man who has been brought up in
his father's house as an only son, who in clays of child(95)




96      DUTIES OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
hood had none to share with him the affections of his
parents, when he has chanced to look abroad over the
family groups of his acquaintance, and has observed
the family likeness in their features while they were
encircling their parents as a common centre of in terest,
has apprehended at a glance the endearments of such a
relationship, and has felt how strong must be the ties
which unite the hearts of those who, while under the
parental roof, with all the simplicity of childhood, with
all the frankness of confiding youth, and all the
strengthening affections of riper years, have heard from
each others' lips in daily intercourse the appellations of
brother and sister. Naturally, in thought he transfers
the name to those whom he loves as equals, and calls
them brethren. And so universally is a kindred feeling roused in the human soul by this association of ideas,
thas vwhen inspired poetry, predicting the final triumphs
of t.l iLh, rises to its climax of description, it is satisfied
to pc -tr y the warring clanships of earth as having
disappva:.d in the embrace of one generous and worldwide brt,nerhood.
Once the world was one brotherhood. The first
pages of sacred history exhibit the whole race as occupying the old Asiatic homestead, inherited from our
first parents. There was then no slavery, no grinding
poverty, no great diversity of form or complexion, arising from difference of habits, food, clothing, or climate.
There was an equality of rank and condition. But the
charm of this moral landscape was spoiled by sin, and
with sin came misery, showing that neither inequality
of rank, nor an unequal distribution of property, was




DUTIES OF BR'OTHERS AND SISTERS.       97
the chief source of woe to man, according to the dream
of some philosophical socialists. But in that family
the oldest son cherished towards a younger one feelings
of envy, hate, and wrath, and the first brother became
the first murderer. What dread and horror must have
thrilled the breasts of his parents when they saw his
hands stained with fraternal blood, and thought of the
deeper crimson of his soul! Discord, strife, and death
there proclaimed the reign of sin, and to us they suggest the impressive lesson that, although the bonds of
brotherhood formed by nature are very pleasant and
very sacred, yet they may be rent apart by some ruthless passion, in an hour of excitement, like cords of
" flax at touch of fire;" so that, in order to reap the
love, peace, and joy which are the proper fruits of this
relationship, we must rely on the influence of pure religion, on the cultivation of the conscience, the reason,
and the affections, quickened, enlightened and directed
by genuine Christianity.
Remembering, then, that however richly endowed
we may be by nature with amiable sentiments, we
must needs consider the duties that arise from the relation of brothers and sisters in order to exemplify
them, let us inquire what these are, with the purpose of
strengthening our sense of obligation to observe them.
1. Cultivate practically, and by all right means, that
magnanimous love which is congenial with the relation
of brother or sister. "Doth not nature itself teach"
us that this relation was designed by the Creator to be
a spring of tender affections? If it be natural for the
heart of a youth to turn with fondness towards the
9




98       DUTIES OF BROTHERS ANND SISTERS.
parent on whom he depends for sustenance and:are, is
it natural to turn away with coldness from those who
share that parent's love?  If a filial spirit rule as it
ought to do in the bosom of a child, can there be in
that same bosom an utter lack of fraternal feeling where
the relation of brotherhood exists to call it forth?
True love, regarded as to its essential nature, implies a
sympathy with its object, and a desire to please; and as
the Scripture saith that he who loves God must love
his Christian brother also, undoubtedly he who loves
an earthly parent will love those who share that parent's heart. And if the destitution of a filial spirit
implies the lack of any solid ground on which to rear
a noble and manly character, the brother who has no
fraternal love is unfitted for all the social connections
and duties of life.   This remark is applicable, of
course, to the character and condition of the sister who
is destitute of the affections which this relation is
adapted to inspire. Supremely selfish in her sentiments and aims, and the whole "spirit of her mind,"
she will be likely to realize in action the idea expressed
in the lines of an old English poet:
"She hath neither manners, honesty, behavior,
Wifehood, nor womanhood."
That a magnanimous and enduring love is congenial
with the nature of this relation, is clearly evident from
the fact that it involves so many interests that are common to those who hold it to each other.   They are
concerned alike in the good name of their parents,
which to them "is better than great riches;" in the




DUTIES OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS.        99
reputation of the family, wherein if one suffer, all the
members suffer with that one; in the success of the
father, while he struggles amid the din of business to
gain a livelihood, or by prudence to manage his property; in the health and happiness of the mother, whose
watchful eye and presiding mind are necessary to direct
the affairs of the household. All these furnish common grounds to the fraternal circle for hope or fear,
joy or sorrow-for mutual incitement or restraintand justify on the part of each a friendly remonstrance
with the other for any course of conduct which may
jar against the harmony of the whole, or be adverse
to the common welfare.
All this will appear more evidently still to any one
who will array within his view the common objects of
family life that are fitted to awaken in the mind of each
touching reminiscences of the past, anticipations of the
future, and those kindred feelings which constitute
bonds of sympathy. Fraternal recollections go back
to the nursery, where in the season of infancy each was
watched by the same eyes, in hours of suffering partook
of the same guardian care, was lulled to sleep by the
same song, reposed in the same arms or on the same
pillow; to the school, where each was called to grapple
with the same tasks, aud to cope with similar difficulties; to the playground, so dear to memory as the bright
and pleasant spot where all joined together, or with
their fellows, in the same childish sports; to the table
where each had his place, and his plate or cup, received
food dispensed by the same hands, and basked in the
sunshine of the same co intenances which illumined the




100     DUTIES OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
common centre of family meeting and enjoyment; to
the familiar friends who were welcomed to the father's
house, and beguiled there many an evening hour, or
gave their aid in time of trouble; to scenes of sickness,
where all turned with anxious gaze to the same couch,
approached it with a like gentle step, and watched the
symptoms with kindred apprehensions; and, perhaps,
though this to many of us may be yet to come, to the
same parental funeral, where all looked for the last time
on the face of that best earthly friend, whose heart
had embraced them all as one; then turned away to
move towards the same grave which was opened to receive the object of their common veneration, and where
they still meet in spirit, while memory lingers there
with mingled emotions of gratitude, love, and pensive
sorrow. Whepsoever we walk through a cemetery as
new as that which adorns our own neighborhood, where
spacious tombs have been prepared, and places arranged
within them, to receive all the members of the family
now mingling here in the scenes of active, joyous life,
how affecting is the lesson uttered by the stony lips of
the monuments above them, reminding us that the
parents and children who now occupy the same house
upon the surface of the earth shall soon meet in a dark
and narrow one beneath it, to share a common destiny,
to blend in kindred dust.
Now, who that considers all these incentives to domestic unity which God has furnished to us all in the
constitution and course of nature, can fail of seeing that
it was his desire that those who are united by such
tender, sacred, end enduring ties, should cherish towards




DUTIES OF BROTLIERS AND SISTERS.         101
each other a peculiar affection, more intimate and confiding than that of ordinary friendship; and that for
such as these to meet each other with averted looks or
hearts of strife is a revolting spectacle, a heinous and a
deadly sin?
2. Hence, I am led to observe that the law of brotherhood enjoins it as a duty that you quench that spirit of
JEALOUSY which sometimes enters stealthily a peaceful
home, and disturbs the youthful circle around their
parents' hearth.  Wheresoever it is indulged, it paralyzes every generous feeling; yea, poisons the lifeblood of the social nature. In the daily routine of
affairs in every family there are constantly arising those
occasions which seem exactly adapted to afford genial
aliment to this spirit of evil, if it be at all harbored in
the bosom. The first sign of its existence in the heart
of a child may well alarm our fears; forit grows with
one's growth, and keeps the inventive faculties of considerate parents constantly on the rack in order to
avoid the appearance of partiality. The victim of this
feeling is ever imagining that others are better treated
than himself; for it has been truly said,
It is jealousy's peculiar nature
To swell small things to great; nay, out of thought
To conjure much, and then to lose its reason
Amid the hideous phantoms it has formed.
Be alert, therefore, to quench the first spark of this
subtle and wasting passion.    First of all cherish a
generous faith in your parents' love; it is due to them.
Concede much to their discretion.  " Ionor thy father
9*




102     DUTIES OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
and thy mother" is the first command with promise;
and let it be yours to honor them by confiding in their
kind intentions towards you, as well as towards your
brothers or sisters. If they adopt any distinguishing
treatment, attribute it to any motive that is possible
rather than that of petty favoritism. Do not tease them
for explanations; for they cannot always announce
the reasons for every little plan or project which they
may wish to carry out in action.
Then, again, guard carefully against that leaven of
egotism which sometimes leads one member of a family
to speak more of himself and to claim more for himself than others may think to be proper. Here, it may
appear in one's demanding particular attentions or
privileges because he is the oldest; there, in another's
doing it because he is the youngest, having been, on
that account, perhaps too much petted and indulged.
A third, or a fourth, may set up some other plea; and,
ere long, this selfish spirit, if unrebuked, is sure to
introduce into the family-circle its own natural offspring, disaffection, sullenness, and strife.  Watch
against it. Resist it. Unmask it, whatsoever guise it
may wear. Drive it from every lurking-place, for it
will make your heart like a nest of serpents. A filial
spirit nourished by religious principle is the best medicine to destroy its venom. By the aid of divine grace,
resolve that as far as you are concerned peace shall
reign at home; that there shall be one place on earth
where this selfish and corroding passion'shall not have
it way. For this, " deny thyself and take thy cross;"
so shalt thou have a better treasure than can be gained




DUTIES OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS.        103
by carrying a selfish policy against the dictates of conscience, the commands of Heaven, the hopes of parents,
and the claims of fraternal love.
But why do I speak, in this connection, of a better
mental treasure to be gained by this kind of selfdenial? Is it merely, think you, in view of the present
calm and inward sunshine imparted by an approving
conscience? That, indeed, is much; but the benefit
of that spirit which I commend to you stretches far
onward to the destinies of future life. For jealousy,
indulged at home, will destroy all the finer feelings of
the soul, and will corrode the interior elements of the
character as vitriol doth the flesh. Let it be your aim,
therefore, to rise superior to it. Oppose it at the outset. Let it gain no advantage by subtlety or stealth.
Because it hath been truly said that this, of all the
passions,
Exacts the hardest service, and pays
The bitterest wages. Its service is,
To watch an enemy's success; its wages,
To be sure of it.
The great importance of this lesson which I am now
inculcating has been recognized by men of every class
and'every clime in its immediate bearing upon the
earthly interests and honor of a family. In this one
respect our own times have witnessed a remarkable
instance of the value of fraternal unity. For the nations of Christian Europe have beheld the Rothschilds,
an obscure Jewish family, rising up in their midst to
put folth a power which has often been felt in deliberations touching the great questions of diplomacy. The




10     DUTIES OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
financial business of that house began to assume importance in consequence of its first loan, of ten millions
of florins, to the King of Denmark. In the year 1812,
Mayer Anselmo Rothschild, the father, was attacked
with a mortal illness. He called his children to his
bedside, blessed them, then made them promise never
to abandon their religion, and always to be united on'Change. These promises have been kept; and it has
been truly said, " Most amply has the fable of the bundle of sticks been verified by the five brothers." Their
interests have been identical. They have swayed a
golden sceptre; they have illustrated the power of
capital when wielded with skill and in subordination
to a steady aim. The principle of fraternal unity which
they have exemplified on an immense scale of operation is applicable to the smallest sphere of action; and
when it is guided by Christian wisdom and benevolence, who can tell what vast and benign results it may
achieve? Had these money-kings been animated by
a spirit of true religious philanthropy, and subordinated their splendid financial talents to the service of
Christ, they might havt adorned the face of the world
wth the memorials of a useful beneficence more grand
and glorious than any that have yet been seen within
the whole range of human history. How many a barren waste might then have broken forth into joyous
song like that which charms the ear in the strain of
my text: IHow good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
3. In the development of this subject, let me ask you
to observe still further, that it becomes children of the




T)UTIES OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS.     105
same family to seek, day by day, to give free scope to
their natural sympathies in acts of courtesy and mutual
assistance. In the relationship of brothers and sisters
young persons may reap those benefits which they can
derive from no other source. The Creator has formed it
as a means of healthful discipline for the wider sphere
of this world's associations. The tributes of attention
and kindness which we yield to our parents are called
forth by those whom we are accustomed to revere and
obey as superiors; but those which we yield to our
brothers and sisters are offered to our equals; they have
more of spontaneous freedom, and, of course, the more
aptly prepare us for the society of men, as equals, by
forming us to habits of self-command, magnanimity
and frankness; by inducing courteous manners, and
thus imparting to the social character an aspect of completeness.  How finely constituted are some familycircles in relation to this end! Is it not an attractive
sight that engages our attention when we behold a
brother regarding with a generous and manly pleasure
the virtues, the accomplishments, and the happiness of
a sister, becoming, as he advances in life, her protector, and her counsellor touching every thing of mutual
interest; and, on the other hand, a sister watching with
honest pride and joy the expanding character of a
brother, hovering around his path like a guardian
angel, praying for his success, softening his coarser
qualities by the bland influence of her cultivated mind,
reproving him for his faults, or rallying him for his follies and vagaries with a good-nature, point, and propriety which lead hil i to censure himself, yet to love her




106     DUTIES OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
more, and at last, having become improved in intellect
and heart, in habits and manners, acknowledging his
debt of gratitude to her for nameless benefits which
could have been conferred by no human being unless
by one who sustained towards him this benign relationship of sisterhood! Oh, think then how thrice-blessed
are these offices of love, and learn to prize this social
constitution of the family as a bright display of God's
beneficence.
And in following out this rule, let me entreat you
to act from principle rather than from impulse. There
are times when the sated savage loses his fierceness,
and the blood-stained warrior loves quietness. But
this mental state is a mere play of fitful feeling. There
is no virtue in it, and it is not trustworthy. The main
thing needed to invest our social life with an abiding
charm is the schooling of our feelings in subjection to
religious principle. This is the only firm foundation
of reliable character. On this alone can the fabric of
domestic happiness securely rest. And surely, of all
our needs on earth, next to that of a peaceful conscience
is the need of a peaceful home. We need it as a retreat
from the harassing din of earthly cares, and from the
sense of dismal solitude that afflicts "the world's tired
denizen" amid the icy splendors of heartless society
We need it, too, as a place of preparation for a future
and a higher state of being. We need this inner realm
of life, wherein the finest affections of which the soul
is capable may have scope for healthful play and free
development. And in order to create and gladden a
home like this, Oh, how potent is the true spirit of reli.




DUTIES OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS.     107
gion-that love of God which is "the beginning of
wisdom!" Where it lives in the heart, it rules with a
kingly power, subjects every passion to its sway, and
" multiplies grace, mercy, and peace" to all. Under
its influence we not only find it easy to be kind on
special occasions, but, what is more, we refrain from
unkindness amidst ordinary provocations. Wheresoever it hath its way with men, it brings heaven down
to earth. Show me a family wherein prevails that fraternal love which "suffereth long and is kind, which
envieth not, which vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own,
is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil," and there
my thoughts would fain linger in affinity with the
spirit of a scene which the lyres of angels might celebrate as a partial realization of that prophetic song
by which they heralded the Messiah's way, breathing
"peace on earth and good-will to man."
Having thus called your attention to those duties
which the fraternal relation renders especially imperative, let me now, still further, commend to you one or
two general maxims that bear directly on that main
end which should be kept steadily before the mind in
the work of self-improvement:
1. Study day by day to make the faults, weaknesses,
or imperfections of your brothers, sisters, and friends
minister to the moral elevation of your character. For
there is need of care, lest, while we contemplate an
ideal standard of social excellence, and while we are
pleased with our own conceptions of ideal beauty, we
should fail practically of attaining any noble aim




108     DUTIES OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
when the daily contrast between that which is ideal
and that which is real grates harshly upon the feelings.
We may experience a refined mental pleasure in musing
upon a lovely picture of domestic life while it glows
in all the hues in which a lively fancy may invest it;
we may imagine ourselves to be the happy members
of a family-circle wherein all the graces of brotherhood
and sisterhood are embodied in enchanting forms that
we can behold but to love; and yet, when we find
it to be our lot to associate with those who have their
share of human imperfections, whose faults annoy us,
and whose capricious whims, as they may seem to be,
balk our best resolves to be kind and amiable, we
may be strongly tempted to protect our sensibilities
by the rough garb of sullen manners, and by a system
of sturdy retaliations. We have seen persons who
unconsciously betray this early habitude in various
modes of expression; "the show of their countenance
doth witness" to this malign bias of their dispositions.
This is a great evil. It will sport its ravages within
the heart, and blast the finest germs of youthful affections. Guard yourselves against it. Let these infelicities which are, in many cases, incidental to home
life, furnish opportunities for the strengthening of
character; for overcoming evil with good; for shaming meanness by generosity  for the rectifying of
what is wrong by the exemplification of what is right;
so shall the petty causes of uneasiness in domestic
life develop in you large resources of moral power,
become the means of educating the soul to habits of
self-command, and of preparing it for glorious tri



DUTIES OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS.      109
umphs over the sternest difficulties that may afterwards
confront it in its earthly career.
2. Above all, let it be remembered that, however
strong and fondly-cherished may be the natural ties of
brotherhood and sisterhood, they are destined to perish
at the touch of death. The most lovely scenes of
domestic bliss must soon be covered with a funereal
pall. The most happy home that now rings with the
laugh of childish glee, or echoes the song of love, must
ere long reverberate the melancholy wail that comes
from stricken hearts in the hour of separation. In
the day of prosperity, when the voice of joy is heard
in our dwellings, when blithe and jocund health sparkles in every eye and plays in every feature, when
every movement, look, and tone tells of a genial flow
of spirits that animates a youthful circle, while it kindles a smile of rapture even on the wan countenance
of age, how often does some dim presentiment of sudden change, "casting its shadows before," visit the
heart unbidden, and thrill it painfully with strange
forebodings! How many have felt the sentiment which
was expressed by a loving mother who, on a bright
summer evening, standing in the centre of a joyous
circle, was congratulated on her happiness, and answered the greeting, with a tear which she sought in
vain to conceal, "Oh, this scene is too lovely to last
long!" Before a month had passed away, the youngest of that romping group was borne to the cemetery.
So fragile are all earthly ties. But the gospel teaches
us that there are spiritua bonds which shall outlast
even the wreck of nature. The ties of faith and.love
10




110     DUTIES OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
that unite true and honest hearts to the Saviour can
never be dissolved. His faithful servants, his willing
disciples are his real kindred, While he dwelt amongst
men, he said of such, These are to me as brothers, sisters and mother: that is, their relation to me combines the sacred endearments of all relations in itself.
What a treasure of god-like love is unfolded in that
brief saying! Shall it not, then, be your aim to have,
" by faith, access into this grace" wherein the Christian stands? Shall it not be yours to answer at once
that voice from heaven " which speaketh unto you as
unto children," saying, My son, my daughter, "give
me thy heart?"  Hearken now to this appeal. Consider it well. Let not the illusions of life charm your
thoughts away from it. Prayfor divine grace, imparted by the Holy Spirit, to aid you effectually, so that
you may realize your ideas of truth and duty in immediate action. " To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart." Thus, and thus only, can the soul
become conscious of benign affections that can never
decay; and bearing within itself the assurance of a
happy immortality, be gifted with the power to soar, as
on eagles' wings, over the ruins of all earthly relationships, to join the brotherhood of kindred spirits in the
mansions of the blesses




"THOU SHALT NOT OPPRESS A HIRED SERVANT THAT IS POOR AND
NEEDY, WHETHER HE BE OF THY BRETHREN, OR OF THE
STRANGERS OF THY LAND WITHIN THY GATES."-Deut. xxiv. 14.
THERE was a large measure of sound sense in the
J saying of the old Greek, that he would judge of a
man's character by the manner in which he treated his
servants. The remark, in that case, referred to slaves,
who were regarded as property; but the principle
involved in it applies with more or less of aptness to
our treatment of all those who are inferior to us
in point of social position, or in any way dependent
upon us for their means of subsistence and enjoyment.
For, in our treatment of such persons we act out ourselves; we develop the interior and cherished sentiments of our hearts. And certainly, the duties that
pertain to the relation of householders and servants,
although they do not lay hold of the finer sensibilities
of our nature with a grasp so strong as do those which
have already engaged our thoughts, yet are they impe(11i)




112       HOUSEHOLDERS AND SERVAINTS.
rative in their claims, are binding on the conscience,
are intimately connected with our mental peace and
with the prosperity of our families, while they furnish
searching tests of our social and Christian character.
The persons who are engaged in domestic service do
not appear in the popular theories of society, or in the
eyes of the world at large, as occupying stations of
commanding influence; yet, regarded as a class, their
power for good or evil in the community is immense.
What avail the gifts of fortune, the convenient house,
or the palatial residence adorned by art and stored
with all luxuries of life, if you cannot employ in the
routine of daily work the services of those who are
competent and trustworthy? When called away from
home, what fears must haunt you at every step, if you
shall have left your property in the hands of those
who are reckless of your interests and have "no fear
of God before their eyes!" What anxiety must prey
upon a mother's peace if she be obliged to commit her
offspring to the care of those whom she believes to
be unprincipled or heartless! The most magnificent
plans of living, although supported by ample wealth,
may be utterly baffled by a failure in the character of
domestic servants. They may promote or defeat the
best arrangements, and cause the machinery of household affairs to work effectually, or may set it all ajar.
If they exemplify the Christian virtues, and exert a
healthful influence on the opening minds of the younger children; if they cherish a sympathy with their employers and a concern for their prosperity; if they can
be relied on in emergencies; and especially, if in time




HOUSEHOLDERS AND SERVANTS.         113
of sickness and trouble they perform their duties with
that readiness and fortitude which spring from a kind
nature and religious principle, they are worthy to be
prized as among the most precious gifts of Providence; they are entitled to those returns of favor and
esteem that shall encourage them in their course of
well-doing, and verify to them the words of the poet,
Honor and shame from no condition rise:
Act well your part; there all the honor lies.
How important is it, then, that householders consider well their own duties in a relation from which
such consequences flow! consequences so closely connected with our character and welfare, not only in this
world but in that which is to come. With what beauty
and force did the Patriarch Job express his sense of
the truth that the Judge of all the earth will cause our
conduct towards those engaged in our service to pass
in review before his own tribunal, when he exclaimed,
(Job xxxi. 13,) " If I did despise the cause of my manservant or my maid-servant when they contended with
me, what shall I do when God riseth up? and when
he visiteth, what shall I answer him? Did not he that
made me in the womb make them?       Did not one
fashion us both?" How finely does this strain of ancient poetry illustrate the tendency of true religion to
counteract those enmities which too often separate class
from class, by awakening in the breasts' of all the sentiment of a common obligation to God, and the participation of a common humanity!
10*




114       HOUSEHOLDERS AND SERVANTS.
I. The FIRST great duty which demands our attention, in regard to those who are engaged in our domestic service, is that which Paul urged on the Christians
of his time: that we treat them according to the rule
of EQUITY-" giving unto them that which is just and
equal." This is simply an enforcement of the golden
rule, " Whatsoever ye would that men do unto you, do
ye even so unto them." That kind of treatment which
reason and conscience tell us we would have just
ground to claim if we were in their condition and they
in ours, is the treatment which we are bound to observe towards them.
This involves several particulars; and prominent
among these is a fair remuneration for their labor. To
take advantage of their extreme necessities in order to
wring out from them those toils which are all the
means of sustenance they have, for a stinted pittance
that will not suffice with all their efforts to furnish
them a decent livelihood, is both unchristian and inhuman. The habits of business which many have
formed amidst the strifes of competition, steel their
sensibilities against the demands of justice and honor
in the financial dealings of domestic life; and a man
of wealth who has, when in a favorable mood, contributed large sums to public charities, has been known,
on a cold day of winter, to beat down a poor woodsawyer below the regular price, on seeing his eagerness
to obtain the job. There are times when one may
have the opportunity to deal with all domestics on the
same principle; and if this be done, how can faithful
service and kind attentions be expected of them?




EHOUSEHOLDERS AND SERVANTS.        115
What wonder if they should feel themselves to be
friendless and oppressed, should consider the more
favored classes as their enemies, and should nourish in
their hearts a sentiment of antipathy? What wonder
if it should be found, at last, that such practices have
drawn forth fitting retribution from that just Sovereign who said of old by his Prophet, "I will come
near to judgment, and will be a swift witness against
those that oppress the hireling in his WAGES, the
widow and the fatherless, and that turn aside the
stranger from his right;" (Malachi iii. 5;) who proclaimed Iis will at the very commencement of the
Jewish Commonwealth, saying, " If thy brother wax
poor, and dwell with thee as an hired servant, thou
shalt not rule over him with rigor."
And while the divine law insisted on a just reward
for labor, it commanded, too, prompt and regular paynent. With what explicitness and strength of expression it forbade an employer to withhold a poor man's
dues a single day after they were wanted!  "Thou
shalt not oppress a hired servant that is poor and
needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates. At his day
thou shalt give him his hire; neither shall the sun go
down upon it: for he is poor, and setteth his heart
upon it; lest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it
be sin unto thee." (Deut. xxiv. 14, 15.) Let it be remembered, then, that if a man be careful to preserve
his credit with merchants and traders by prompt attention to his payments, the eye of the omniscient Judge
is on him for evil if he be dilatory in granting to the




116       HtOUSEIIOLI)ERS AN- SERVANTS.
poor the reward of labor; and If a lady exhaust her
purse in meeting the demands of fashion, or in indulging a taste for luxury and elegance, so as to stint a
domestic of her dues, the day will come when the
divine warning shall, in some way, be fulfilled: " There
shall be sackcloth instead of silk, a sunburnt skin instead of beauty."
In the changing circumstances of a family, it happens not unfrequently that EXTRA WORK is required
of one or more in our service; and then the rule of
equity demands that extra pay be granted. Touching
this matter, a domestic may be unreasonably exacting;
on the other hand, it is a very bad thing for a man or
a woman to be looked upon by any membncr of the
household as being guilty of meanness or extortionas being ever ready to make large demands on the services of others, and very reluctant to offer a fair recompense. In order to form a just estimate of what is
right in all such cases, those whom we employ should
be clearly informed as to what are the duties of the
station which they are called to fill; they should understand thoroughly, at the outset, what is expected
of them. Then, whensoever they may make extraordinary exertions to aid and please the employer,
when they go beyond the set limits of the contract,
commendation should be bestowed with generous freedom, and their desire to do well should be encouraged
by the offer of a meet reward. Yet it has often happened, that seasons of sickness in the family, and the
entertainment of company, have exacted from domestics severe and unexpected services that have never




HOUSEHOLDERS AND) SERVANTS.        117
received the least acknowledgment. What wonder is
it, if, in such cases, their good resolutions pine away
for want of aliment! But when it is evident to them
that their best efforts are fairly considered, the relation
naturally becomes a source of mutual happiness; like
that which is spoken of in the New Testament, where
it is said, "A certain centurion's servant who was dear
unto him was sick and ready to die: and when he
heard of Jesus, he sent unto Him the Elders of the
Jews, beseeching Him that He would come and heal
1iis servant."
II. This leads me to consider next, the SECOND
general duty which devolves on householders in this
relation. Besides the law of equity, there is also the
"LAW OF KINDNESS" to be observed.     This takes
within its scope our habits of address, our words and
tones, our manners, and the general spirit of our intercourse.  All these have their set place among the
lights or shadows of home-life; and all these elements
of character are comprehended within the reach of that
brief precept of the Apostle Paul, which we read in
the Epistle to the Ephesians: "forbearing threatening."
Every one knows that they who rule well their own
houses must have many directions to lay down with
great explicitness, many faults to correct, and of
course, sometimes, reproofs to administer; but every
thing, as to the effect on the mind, depends on the
manner and the spirit in which the thing is done.
The eyes are the windows of the soul; and if, looking
out through them, it dart forth the glance of wrath,
contempt or pride, it provokes kindred passions, exas



118       HOUSEHOLDERS AND SERVANTS.
perates where it ought to soothe, and repels where it
ought to rule with a gentle influence. Even though,
in this way, the point seem to be carried practically,
yet it is only for a time. There is gained nothing of
that fine control over the mind which gentleness
always confers. Undoubtedly, mistakes and errors,
faults, follies, and inadvertences will sometimes occur,
so as to render a pointed rebuke necessary. Yet, let
it be seen that fault-finding is not an agreeable business; that it does not afford you a genial excitement
or a pleasant pastime, and that the opportunity is
never welcome. "Be ye angry and sin not;" and
after the first word of reproof, be especially on your
guard; for he who lets passion goad him, punishes
himself instead of the offender. What a vivid sense
of this truth was expressed by that Grecian philosopher who, being surprised by a friend while standing
over a slave with a rod uplifted in his hand, forbearing
to strike, was asked what he was doing, and frankly
replied, " I am punishing an angry man!"
The law of kindness requires that you cherish an
interest in the health and comfort of those connected
with your household service. It must be confessed
that employers forget rather too easily that those who
labor for them are persons of kindred nature, and have
sensibilities as keenly alive to all that constitutes comfort, or discomfort, as are those of the more favored
classes. Those of us who have read of the extent to
which the boys and girls of the English factories and
coal-mines are overworked, have seen a horrible illustration of this tendency; for the poor creatures are




HOUSEIOLDERS AND SERVANTS.         119
forced to toil through hours which ought to be allotted
to recreation or repose, until their little muscles lose
all their elasticity and tone. Those who urge them to
this excess are human beings like ourselves, who began
the process with the plea of necessity, then by habit
and familiarity became blinded to its shocking evils;
and, never having cherished any personal sympathies
with the laboring classes, became almost incapable of
reasoning aright, touching their own duties towards
them. I only allude to this spectacle of misery to indicate the necessity of keeping alive in our bosoms a
fellow-feeling with those whom we employ, as human
beings, having by nature the same infirmities and
wants, the same interior sources of hope and fear, of
joy and sorrow, as ourselves. True sympathy is perceptive; it quickens the intellect; it enables us to read
human character; without it we cannot understand
those with whom we have to do, and are sure to go
wrong in our treatment of them. Remembering then,
in regard to our domestics, that there is a limit to their
power of working and endurance, let us see to it that
we avoid making requisitions of them which are inconsistent with the laws of their constitution, or subjecting
them to exposures which jeopardize their health, or
begrudging to them, when sick, the same medical aid
which we would procure for other members of the
family. "A righteous man regardeth the life of his
beast," saith the Scripture; a kind-hearted farmer
abhors the sight of a lean and sickly horse limping
uncared for about his premises; much more should one
who has the heart of a Christian or a man, provide for




120       HOUSEHOLDERS AND SERVANTS.
the comfort of those who livt tinder his roof, and without whose service his own life would be comfortless.
Of course, then, the law of kindness requires that
those who engage in our service should be allowed
some time for recreation, that they may enjoy a change
of scene and opportunities of breathing the fresh air.
This is not to be regarded as a mere privilege; it is a
demand of absolute necessity; and if some crave it
to excess, that can furnish no argument against moderate indulgence. Any regular routine of work that
daily tasks the powers of a human being, must be
broken now and then by a recreating change, or else
the active faculties themselves must soon be broken
down. The regular walk, evening and morning, from
the kitchen to an attic chamber and from the chamber
back to the kitchen, will not suffice to attain the desired
end. The mind of every active laborer needs occasionally the exhilarating influence of a change of scene;
for it is like the bow-" o'er-bend it, and it breaks."
Moreover, we are bound, in accordance with the law
of kindness, to respect the feelings of our domestics, and
to protect them against the abuse or insults of children,
if any should betray towards them a wanton or a wayward spirit. If they do well in their sphere of duty,
it becomes us to speak well of them; and as CHARACTER must be their main dependence, we should readily
furnish them with a favorable testimonial, whensoever
they may request it, so far as we may be able to do so
conscientiously. And if several successive years have
witnessed their connection with youi family, the fathful performance of their duties, their attention to your




HOUSEHOLDERS AND SERVANTS.          121
interests, their care for your children, their cherished
sentiment of identity with your domestic circle, it is
not right, in such a case, to dismiss them as mere hirelings, or to allow them to depart from your house without tokens of kind consideration and of sincere desires
for their welfare. The law of Moses, alluding to a
kind of apprenticeship which existed in Judea, says,
"If thy brother, a Hebrew man, or if a Hebrew woman
be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years, then in the
seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee.
And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou
shalt not let him go away EMPTY. Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor,
and out of thy wine-press: of that wherewith the Lord
thy God hath given thee, thou shalt give unto him."
Mark well the kindly spirit of that old law; six years
of faithful service then constituted a peculiar and
friendly relation. Would not a similar rule, even in
our times, be in accordance with true expediency, with
the dictates of humanity and religion? In spite of
the general want of fidelity and affection on the part
of domestics, in spite of the precariousness of the connection between them and their employers, might not
much more be done than has yet been attempted to
cultivate what is good in them, to improve their condition, and to make the relation itself more fruitful in
tender charities and mutual benefits?
III. The THIRD general DUTY which remains to be
noticed is this: that we cherish a regard for the spiritual welfare of our domestics. It is doing much for
them to remember that they have bodies like our own,
11




122       HOUSEHOLDERS AND SERVANTS<
and therefore that they have physical wants akin to
ours; it is doing more to remember that each one
of them has a spiritual and immortal nature. It is
a good thing to have a care for their temporal interests; it is a better thing to have a heart to promote
those which are spiritual and eternal. " There is no
respect of persons with God;" and before Him the
soul of a servant is of as much worth as the soul of an
emperor. To become the agent of spiritual ruin to an
immortal being placed under our guardianship, would
be to plait a crown of thorny horrors for our heads in
a state of future retribution; to become the voluntary
instrument of one's salvation, would be enhancing our
happiness on earth and in heaven. Influence is a subtile thing; it is ever streaming from us in manifold
directions, and every relation of life which we occupy
is a channel through which it flows to attain its end
for good or evil. Those who occupy these relations
must reap from them harvests of weal or woe; and
whether our steps now take hold on the path of life
or of death, we shall not go alone, for we are constantly
Attracting others who will accompany or follow us,'especially those of our own household."  What an
interesting moral spectacle is that which enlivens the
scenes of social life when the head of a family commands the respect of all whom he employs, and not
only their respect as a man, but their confidence as a
Christian; when his character radiates its cheering
gleam over their path while they are far away from
him, so that they are wont to embalm his memory in
words of prayer like those which were breathed as




HOUSEHOLDERS AND SERVANTS.         123
sweet incense from the lips of the Patriarch's servant:
" 0 Lord God of my master Abraham, prosper the
way which I go!"
In obeying this higher Christian rule of which I
speak, to seek the salvation of'those who serve us, it
becomes us to beware of employing them in any thing
which may be " a trap to the conscience." Those who
would avoid tempting their children to a dishonest act
have been known to have fewer scruples about tempting a servant. Mrs. Opie, in her book on Lying, has
illustrated many practices of this sort in her own
country. Many of them are too common here. Some
persons have tasked their skill to defend the custom of directing a domestic to say at the door, " Not
at home," when the lady happened to be engaged, or
indisposed to see company, on the ground that the language is understood. But whatever pleas of this sort may
be gotten up by a fashionable conventionalism, those
who are employed to bear such messages understand
them only in their simple sense. In the view of domestics, generally, such forms of excuse are falsehoods.
With the severity of truth has it been said, " If they
consent to liefor you, murmur not if they lie to you,
which they soon will do."
This rule requires, too, that domestics should be
allowed, as far as may be possible, the enjoyment of
religious privileges, and especially the benefits of the
Sabbath. "The Sabbath was made for man;" it was
made for them. Although works of necessity and
mercy are then lawful, it is wrong to demand of our
servants any thing that lieth beyond the limit marked




124       HOUSETOLDERS AND SERVANTS,
by these two terms. If we use the Sabbath as a day
of feasting, and, to this end, lay on our domestics
heavy tasks, keeping them at home to be engrossed
with fatiguing drudgery, we not only wrong our own
souls, but we "feast on our servants' birthright." The
sacred hours of the Sabbath, beyond the limit already
designated, belong to them as their heavenly Father's
gift; and if it be treating them unjustly to keep back
their money, so is it treating them unjustly to deprive
them of that time which has been set apart for them to
employ in laying up that moral treasure which moth
and rust cannot corrupt.
Having thus called the attention of householders to
those general duties which the Scriptures enjoin on
them in relation their domestics, it is proper, now, that
I should address a few words to domestics themselves,
with the hope that these pages may fall into the hands
of some one, or more, of that class of persons.
What though it be true that I am not qualified to
advise you by the possession of that practical wisdom
that comes from a personal experience of your condi
tion? The Word of God is adapted to the moral wants
of men and of women, in every clime and in every station; so that the Christian teacher who heeds its guid.
ance and follows out the lessons which it suggests, by
the aid of personal observation, may be perfectly safe
in urging its great principles on the minds and hearts
of all that are around him, however diversified may
be their pursuits, however different from theirs his
experience of life may have been. And, as I have
pressed on the attention of householders a considera



HOUSEHOLDERS AND SERVANTS.         125
tion of the duties which they owe to you, I presume
you will unite with me in the statement, that, connected with every obligation which lies upon their
consciences in relation to you, there is a correlative
duty binding on you in relation to them.
Let us observe the practical application of this general truth in several particulars.
I. The law of EQUITY has claims on you. As soon
as you make a definite engagement with another, then,
for certain considerations, you surrender to their direction that use of your time and your energies which
had been previously at your own disposal. Now, the
precept of the Scripture which touches this point of
your condition is expressed by Paul in his epistle to
a young minister, whom that apostle commanded to
teach all who are situated in life as you are, that they
be careful to "show all good FIDELITY." (Titus ii. 10.)
The law of equity which demands this has respect
(1) to property. As far as you are concerned, see that
it be not squandered. A man has no moral right to
waste his own property; much less has any one in his
service a moral or a legal right to do so. Be especially
on your guard against violating this law, as too many
have done, by cloaking a wrong act under the specious
name of charity; for some kind-hearted persons have
been known to be recklessly extravagant in secretly
giving away tea, coffee, sugar, and other articles of
their employers' property, in order to supply the wants
of the poor! What an immense amount of property
has thus gone out from a low window, or a back-door,
without ever having been accounted for! And some
11*




126       HOUSEHOLDERS AND SERVANTS.
who have habitually done this thing have been unwilling to admit even to themselves that it was criminal,
because, forsooth, it was the excuse of charity. When
such a process of varnishing over the act of "purloining" by specious names has been once commenced, it
will seldom cease until it shall have developed its nature in some deed of startling crime that will bring
with it the blight of inward peace and the ruin of reputation.
(2) This rule, too, relates to the disposal of time.
For "time is money;" and a careless loiterer will consume much wealth in the course of a year by baffling
every arrangement which may have depended on his
or her punctuality. It is in exact accordance with the
spirit of this remark that Paul lays it down so explicitly as a rule for Christian servants, that they should
so clearly act from a right principle as that they should
not need constant watching. He charges it upon them
that they should attend to their work, "not with eyeservice as men-pleasers, but as the servants of Christ,
doing the will of God from the heart." (Ephes. vi. 6.)
The old proverb, "punctuality is the life of business,"
applies as well to the business of the household as to
that of the market or exchange; and it is equally true
in the one place as in the other, that "he that is slothful is brother to him that is a great waster."
(3) This rule also relates to reputation. It is in
the power of almost every domestic to do immense
injury to the peace and welfare of a family by a careless repetition of remarks which may have been overheard, or by parading before the gaze of idle curiosity




HOUSEHOLDERS AND SERVANTS.         127
all the trifling incidents and the unhappy difficulties
which may occur to one's view within the interior circle of home-life. This course of conduct is sinful: it
is directly forbidden by the Scripture. The apostle
Paul severely condemns the social habits indulged by
those women who, as he says, " learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle,
but TATTLERS also and busybodies, speaking things
which they ought not." (1 Tim. v. 13.) Abuse no advantage of your position in a family to display those
faults and troubles which a Christian spirit would lead
you to veil rather than expose.
II. Let me urge you to observe again, that beyond
the law of equity, there is another law which has
claims on you; namely, the law of kindness.
In the course of events which pertain to the history
of every family, unexpected difficulties will arisesudden emergencies, which no human wisdom could
have foreseen. Disappointment and trouble will come
in some form; neither rank, wealth, nor power, can keep
them at bay. Resolve, I pray you, to share these difficulties with your employer. Do not forsake an afflicted
family. Be ever ready to lend them a helping hand
in time of trouble. Do not be afraid to strain a nerve,
now and then, to render their passage over the rough
places of life's pathway as easy as possible.
In regard to this point of which I am speaking,
there may be seen some very strange contrasts in -the
conduct of persons engaged in domestic service. There
are those who seenr, to be ever ready to perform an act
of kindness; their patience "never faileth;" they are




128       HOUSEHOLDERS AND SERVANTS.
never " put out," and, as the saying is, " you always
know where to find them."   Others, again, are so
peevish as to fret about every petty trouble, and they
are able, by their sullen looks and tones of voice, to
keep all that are around them in a state of nervous
uneasiness. The want of some convenience about the
house or kitchen that may have been seen somewhere
else, the arrival of a visitor having a claim on the
family's hospitality, an unexpected number of guests
at dinner, or the entrance of sudden sickness into the
household-these, one or more, with other nameless
disturbances which are incidental to this mortal state,
have been found sufficient to keep the minds of some
domestics for ever agitated, and have caused them as
much feverish excitement as would properly arise from
the dread of overwhelming calamities. Is not the
indulgence of such a temper a foolish waste of the
energies of life? Undoubtedly; yet it is very common.
If your weaknesses lie in this direction, fail not to pray
for divine grace and wisdom to aid you in getting the
better of them. Wheresoever such malign dispositions
are allowed to have their way, they prey upon the soul
like a fell disease, and invest the whole character with
a mean and disgusting aspect.
I would commend these latter suggestions, especially,
to the notice of those members of the Church who are
engaged in domestic service. We see, from the writings of the Apostle Paul, how desirous he was that
they who are pursuing this walk of life should illustrate true religion by example, or, as he expresses it,
(Titus ii. 10,) "that they may adorn the doctrine of




HOUSEHOLDERS AND SERVANTS.         129
God our Saviour in all things." It has sometimes been
seen, that the influence of a faithful servant has revolutionized the moral condition of a whole family; and
a blessed achievement like this graced the humble
history of one who sustained this relation, respecting
whom a wealthy lady was heard to say, " That girl has
done more for me and for my household than any friend
that I have in this world."  What a fine testimonial of
Christian excellence! The name of "that girl" is unknown to fame; but when God's faithful ones shall be
gathered at his bidding, her character shall shine in
celestial beauty; for of such as these it is written,
" They shall be mine, saith the Lord, in the day when
I make up my jewels."
III. Hence, I am led to observe, that it is your duty
to act habitually from a supreme regard to your own
everlasting salvation, and to the spiritual good of all the
household with which you are connected. This suggestion accords with the spirit of our Saviour's advice to
all of us: "Seek ye first God's kingdom and His
righteousness, and all things else shall be added unto
you.'
If this advice deserve any regard at all, it deserves
supreme regard. If it be worth any thing, it is worth
every thing. And there is need of a special effort of
the mind to lay it well to heart, so as to carry it out in
action. For, at the outset of any course of business
which necessity compels us to pursue, one object of
thought naturally engages the whole attention; that
object is success. All the faculties of the soul become
engrossed in providing for the wants of the body. In




130       HOUSEHIOLDERS AND SERVANTS.
this way, how easily we become forgetful of the momentous fact, that we inherit an immortal nature; that
what men call death, is but the release of the spirit
from its imprisonment in a house of clay; that then,
having entered upon a new career, its faculties must
be for ever expanding, and its desires after real good
for ever increasing in scope and intensity.  In this
connection, I have often thought what a weight of
meaning was enfolded in those few words which the
patriarch Abraham addressed to a departed spirit in
another state of being: " Son, remember that thou in
thy lifetime receivedst thy good things!"
As the soul cannot be satisfied with earthly things,
it must have spiritual sustenance adapted to its nature.
Hence, our Saviour declared, repeating the words of
Moses, "  an shall not live by bread alone, but by
every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God
shall man live."  The truth of God's Word-this is the
proper aliment of the immortal spirit. Whosoever
neglects this "bread of Heaven," may care well for
the body, but he starves the soul.
Allow me therefore to urge upon your attention two
or three important rules of action.
(1.) Make the Bible your daily companion. It will
be your safeguard in hours of temptation, your solace
in trouble, a friendly counsellor amidst scenes of pros.
perity. You may be heavily pressed with the cares
of life, you may be harassed day by day by the pressure of your business urging you forward in the excitement of a constant hurry; nevertheless, do not
aF vw yourself for these reasons to become estranged




HOUSEHOLDERIS AND SERVANTS.         131
from your Bible. Be faithful to it in spite of them.
If you cannot read much, do not, on that account, for.
bear to read a little. A single sentence, a single line
may come suddenly to remembrance amidst the din
of rasping cares, like a message fresh from heaven,
diffusing through the heart a balmy influence, and
soothing an agitated mind into contentment and peace.
(2.) As far as may be possible, use the Sabbath as
a means of spiritual benefit. Do not permit yourself
to be utterly deprived of this inestimable blessing. It
is proper that, in every new engagement, you should
stipulate for a reasonable allowance of time on the
Sabbath, so that you may be able to attend the services of the sanctuary once, at least, during the day.
Having secured this privilege, guard against every
temptation to waste these hallowed hours in dissipating
amusements, in idle gossip, or needless visitation.
(3.) Under the guidance of the Scriptures, let it be
your aim to live a truly Christian life. Let your intercourse with others, and your whole deportment, be
such that you shall be able to respect yourself  Let it
be made evident that, " as far as in you lieth," your
own religious character is a reality, and that it is your
great endeavor to preserve it untarnished, in its simplicity and its purity. Thus it will be clearly shown
not only that you respect yourself, but that you have
reason.to do so; and so shall you constrain others to
respect you, even though it may be against their inclination. The pride of rank and the pride of wealth,
connected with conscious meanness or wickedness, will
sometimes cover before the bright example of one far




132       HOUSEHOLDERS AND SERVANTS.
below them in point of worldly position; just as it
happens, now and then, that
- haughtiest princes veil their eyes
Before the poorest slave.
If your path through the world, thus far, has been
rough and gloomy; if you have had to contend with
disheartening difficulties, with orphanage, with the desertion of friends, with poverty, with varied forms of
calamity, yet, by the power of character formed on
those principles which are taught in the New Testament, you may rise superior to all these outward evils,
and stand upright in a real dignity of soul, in the
strength of a serene conscience, and in favor both
with God and man.
Let it not be thought by any reader that the preceding remarks and rules have been culled from books;
and that, though they " may do well enough in a sermon," they are not really practicable " as the world
now is." In this discourse, there is not a principle, a
rule, or a suggestion, which I have not seen realized
in action; and so realized as to adorn and cheer the
scenes of home-life. They are all, I think, in harmony
with the teachings and the spirit of Christianity as set
forth in those four Gospels which contain the biogragraphy of our Saviour. When these teachings of our
Master shall have shed their light over all the nations,
when their spirit shall have modified the public sentiment of every community, when families shall have
grown up und.:r their benign influence, then, and not




HOUSEHOLDERS AND SERVANTS.         133
till then, shall the long-desired social renovation of
mankind have been accomplished. Then every house
shall be a home. Then the affections of every heart shall
find a sphere of healthful play within the household
circle. Then the war of classes shall have well-nigh
ceased. Then " the lion and the lamb shall lie down
together." Then it shall be seen.that the finest fruits
of Christian civilization are not to be found in the
triumphs of art, in the increase of material comforts,
in the subjugation of rude nature to the dominion of
mind, but rather in the production of noble and reliable CHARACTER; in the rearing of self-governed men
and women, who shall develop in all the social relations those elements of character which constitute true
goodness, true greatness, and true happiness.
12




3uties of srici           als to ClerLs
ani   g   prmtires.
"HAPPY ARE THY MEN, HAPPY ARE THESE THY SERVANTS."1 Kings x. 8.
THE well-being of every community depends essentially on a spirit of mutual confidence, and of friendship, sincerely cherished by the different classes of persons who compose it. In saying this, we only state
a general law which shines by its own light. And
when we consider that the men who now occupy the
various posts of business within the realm of commerce
or mechanic art, and those youth whom they are
training up to take their places, or to make new ones
for themselves, constitute the very life and strength of
the commonwealth, we cannot but see how desirable
and how necessary it is, that the relation between them
should be one of amity and kindness; that while, on
the one hand, the clerk and the apprentice should be
benefited by the wisdom and skill of the employer,
on the other hand, he slhould find in them  those
(134)




DUTIES OF PRINCIPALS.            135
qualities of aptness, diligence, and fidelity, which will
render their services valuable to him. It is only a
widespread relationship of this sort that can lay a solid
basis for social order and permanent prosperity. If,
on the part of the employer, there be indulged a prevailing spirit of rapacity, selfishness, or indifference,
and on the part of his young men an utter disregard of
his interests, or a vengeful sentiment of retaliation, the
scenes of business become a school for the education of
the worst and meanest passions; a miserable place of
preparation for the duties of the present life, and still
less adapted to prepare one for the allotments of "the
life to come." Nevertheless, whosoever will take manly
views of both the present and the future, resolving at
the outset to render this relation friendly, parental,
confidential, giving scope to generous feelings and to
Christian aims, will find, in the peculiar duties which
pertain to it, deep springs of mental satisfaction and
delight.
But the question arises, What are these duties? what
is their extent?  There are many who have never
considered them at all; and many who deny their
obligation. "I know of no peculiar duties that I owe
to a clerk or apprentice," once said an employer who
was all-engrossed in the pursuits of business; "they
come to me in order to earn a livelihood, and as long
as they behave well, I treat them civilly, as I would all
others with whom I have any thing to do." But could
he thus easily discard all the moral obligations arising
from his particular connection with them? Would his
Maker and Judge ratify such a disclaimer as that?




136          DUTIES OF PRINCIPALS.
Does not every new relationship into which we enter
give rise to some new, specific duty, and bring upon
us a corresponding responsibility? In one of the most
instructive parables that was ever uttered, our Saviour
tells us of two men, professedly religious, who, travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho, saw by the wayside a
poor sufferer, who had been attacked and robbed; as
there he lay in his blood, his wounds appealed " with
their dumb mouths" to the heart of humanity: but
they looked coldly on the scene, disclaimed all responsibility, and passed on their journey. They had harmed
no one, and could gravely say that they did not feel
bound to repair the injuries which others had committed. But did Heaven hold them guiltless? The very
fact that they were brought nigh a fellow-man whose
necessities made him dependent on them for special
aids which they had the power to confer, rendered him
in a legal sense their neighbor, because it brought him
within the scope of that command of God which bids
us "love our neighbor as ourselves," or, in other
words, to make his happiness our own. The picture
which our Lord has drawn to illustrate the spirit of
that precept, presents a touching case of bodily suffering; yet, are there not moral needs, wants of the mind
and heart, as urgent as any that are felt by flesh and
sense? Are there not wounds of the spirit to be
healed?  Are there not those around you whose
dependent and exposed condition pleads for them that
you would pour in upon their souls " the oil and wine"
of kindness, counsel, and a healthful moral influence?
If it be a binding duty on us to " do good unto all




DUTIES OF PRINCIPALS.          137
men as we have opportunity," have not those youth
who are in daily association with their seniors for the
purpose of learning to manage the business of life,
high claims on their employers for the exercise of sympathy, care, and friendly vigilance, simply because
there is no class of human beings, beyond the precincts
of one's own family, who furnish so many opportunities of conferring needed benefits?
Inquiries like these, when fairly set in the light of
Christian principles, admit only of an affirmative
answer. Let us proceed, then, to consider the moral
duties which belong to the relation of the employer and
the employed; and, FIRST, the duties which devolve on
the employer.
I. PRIMARILY, it becomes all those who have youth
under their care, for purposes of business, to allow them
every practicable advantage which they may need, in
order to acquire an adequate knowledge of their calling.
As a public teacher of youth, when his scholars are
about to pass an examination in the school-room or the
counting-room, feels a deep concern that they should be
well qualified in the branches which have engaged
their attention, so every man of business should cherish
the desire that those young men who go forth from his
establishment should have a competent knowledge of
their profession. Indeed, the word " apprentice" originally meant a scholar, being derived from the French
verb apprendre-to learn; and although the word university is now confined to an institution of science and
literature, in old times it was the name given to an
incorporated body of business men; so that they used
12*




138           DUT'IES OF PRINCIPALS.
to speak of " the university of smiths," " the university
of clothiers," and would also apply the word to other
combinations. And certainly, he who considers the
welfare of his country, will see it to be as important
that the young men who graduate from farms, shops,
and counting-rooms, should be qualified for their pursuits, as that those who graduate at a college should
know as much as their diplomas certify. If all the
institutions of learning in the land should turn out
poor scholars, no one, in particular, might take any
blame to himself; yet, what an amount of calamity
and dishonor would this course bring upon the nation!
How difficult would it become to find men qualified for
the bench and the bar, the medical chair, the sick-room,
or the pulpit I Not less would our national character
suffer, if "the universities of trades" should send forth
young men deficient in elementary knowledge. So
important was this matter deemed in France, so long
ago as the last century, that there proper officers were
appointed to examine a young man ere he was allowed
to set up in business as an educated apprentice; and
if he were engaged in any department of the arts, he
was required to bring before them a fair specimen of
his work. If he succeeded, he was called an aspirant,
or a candidate for mastership. This arrangement had
a powerful influence in elevating professional character
in all branches of business, and thus, in promoting the
national interests.  Although, in this country, the
government could not carry such a plan as this into
effect, yet the great end which it aimed at is as important here as elsewhere; the attainment of it, however




DUTIES OF PRINCIPALS.          139
must be left to that public opinion which gives law to
custom.  Evidently, therefore, a patriotic spirit-a
regard to the common welfare, as well as a sense of
duty to God, and of justice to the inexperienced youth
-should urge every head of an establishment to see to
it that all who are under his care attain that knowledge
of their duties which will qualify them to "teach
others also," to sustain well their position as members
of society, and to honor that calling to which they
devote their lives.
Obvious facts give moral force to these considerations. Too often have we seen that the young man
who enters upon the arena of business without an efficient preparation, has been, on that account, pressed
with responsibilities which he.could not bear-surrounded with difficulties with which he had not power
to cope; and then, when disaster had long tracked his
steps, and utter failure had disheartened him, he has
sought relief from trouble in the wine-cup-has formed
habits of dissipation whose chains he could not break,
and has sunk down, helpless and hopeless, "a dead
weight" upon the community.
II. But besides imparting to young men that kind
of education which consists in knowledge and skill, it
becomes those who are masters in business, by both
precept and example, to train up all who are under their
care to honorable habits of business.
I use the term "honorable" il a sense that befits the
lips of a Christian, as opposed to every thing dishonest,
nean, and deceitful. It is said that "there is honor
among thieves;" and he who admits no higher stand



140          DUTIES OF PRINCIPALS.
ard of honor than the prevailing social law, may sometimes place the stamp of honor on infamy itself. But
in a truly civilized and Christian community, no one
can habitually violate the law of equity, can direct his
dependants to tell lies for a profit, or pursue a course
of dealing which requires him to creep like a serpent,
instead of moving erect like a man, without destroying
his self-respect, making an enemy of his own conscience,
nor without feeling some disgust for a pursuit whose
gains must be gotten by so enormous a sacrifice. Dishonesty is dishonor; and far better would it be that
commerce should languish, or be managed on the narrow scale of the patriarchal ages, than that the moral
sense, the honor, the integrity of the nation, should be
laid as a whole burnt-offering on its shrine.
But this is not necessary. Commerce is a want of
society, and may be conducted on honorable principles
Were it otherwise; were it true, as some have thought,
that "every trade must have its tricks," and that
the moral law of veracity, though excellent in theory,
cannot be applied in practice, what would this prove,
but that all commercial business is contrary to nature,
and a conspiracy against the government of God? Let
him who speaks in this way establish his proposition,
and what has he done, but shown that all the arrangements of mercantile life are at war with public virtue,
with the ingenuous character of youth, with our national welfare, as well as the laws of Heaven; and that
it is the duty of every friend of religion and humanity,
of the mother who breathes her gentle teachings in the
nursery to the boy whose moral health she values more




DUTIES OF PRINCIPALS.          141
than life, and of the minister in the sanctuary who
commends to the divine keeping the interests of his country, to pray that the Almighty would blast the whole
system by the thunders of his power, rather than to
ask that he would foster our commerce by his providential care? What has he done, but given reason to
expect the working out of such a ruin under the government of a Being who "hateth iniquity," who
"taketh up the isles as a very little thing," to whom
"the nations are but as the small dust of the balance,"
and who will not much regard the number of our ships
which whiten every sea, or the strength of our lofty
storehouses which beautify our cities, or the grandeur
of our merchants' palaces, adorned with unjust gains,
but will lay them all under the ban of his wrath when
" the day of visitation" cometh, in the exercise of the
same high sovereignty as was expressed in the doom
pronounced against Jerusalem-" Take away her battlements, for they are not the Lord's!"
We affirm again our belief that falsehood is not necessary in the business of life; and, being friends of
commerce, would assert its moral dignity as the great
agent in the civilization of the world and the progress
of society. One great reason why a departure from
integrity has seemed, in the view of many, to be so
necessary and so politic, and why the avowal of it has
become so much more popular in our time than it was
formerly, is, that there has been more deeply cherished
a ruling passion for the quick acquisition of fortune, and
for a certain extravagant style of life. It is true, human nature has not changed; but the boundless realm




142           DUTIES OF PRINCIPALS.
of speculation, which was opened in this country some
few years ago, has nourished this passion to strange
excess. And when passion rules, the mind is blind;
for no more than the bat can it see things truly by
daylight. While under its spell, moral considerations
are not treated as realities, and the soul becomes reckless of the means by which the end is gained. There
is a dimness of moral perception; the sensibility to
evil is blunted.  Even now, we are not affected by
deviations from honorable dealing as our fathers would
have been; crimes which would have shocked them
profoundly, scarcely ruffle the surface of our self-complacency. If a man only get a fortune, no matter how,
too often his success is his defence; its glitter hides
the odiousness of the means. He who steals a dollar
is charged with larceny, and is called a criminal; he
who, by an ingenious process, abstracts thousands from
an insurance company or a mercantile firm, is called
by the softer name of a " defaulter," and commands
respect in some sort, according to the boldness of his
operation. The love of party triumph invented the
saying, "All's fair in politics;" and if the phrase, "All's
fair in trade," is not uttered as a popular maxim, a
large, class of facts might be cited to show that by
many it has been practically adopted. Deception in
small things is connived at, until, at last, utter recklessness becomes the disease of a community.   To
what ultimate results these things have tended, and
would have reached had they been left unarrested by
the hand of Providence, we can easily guess, when we
remember that several leading statesmen have boldly




DUTIES OF PRINCIPALS.         143
advocated the policy of repudiating debts which it is
not convenient to pay, have seen themselves sustained
by large parties in the States where they live, and
have thus turned the eyes of foreign nations away
from the misfortunes of our land, to behold with
astonishment the vast extent to which there has obtained a dereliction from principle.
One of the imperative duties, therefore, which men
of business owe to the youth around them, is, to cherish in their breasts a manly sentiment in favor of
honorable dealing. Let them be " rooted and grounded" in the truth, that it is no disgrace to become the
victims of poverty, to be conquered by misfortunes
which could not be foreseen; but that for them, though
encouraged by the example of others, to strike out
bold schemes of business, and to calculate on bringing
matters to a crisis, so as to pay "thirty-three cents on
a dollar," is to act on a principle which not only
involves sin and shame, but, in its issues, brings the
judgments of God on the individual, and temporal ruin
on the community. Let their integrity be held sacred.
Let fair dealing be made a point of honor, and let them
be taught that, if men understand their profession as
merchants, they can manage the business of exchange
between the producer and the consumer, with advantage to all, without the help of fraud and chicanery.
III. It is the duty of the employer to furnish to the
youth under his care those moral aids which will enable
them to cope with the peculiar temptations that beset
them. Every young man, especially in a great city, is
called to a stern moral conflict with the leagued hosts




114          DUTIES OF PRINCIPALS.
of evil-a battle which is in constant progress, and m
which, now and then, there comes a critical moment
whereon his destiny is suspended. A slight incident will
sometimes become the turning-point of a history. In
The London Illustrated Magazine is a story entitled
"Life behind the Counter," which was intended to show,
by a vivid picture, how entirely the complexion of a
young man's character was determined by a conversation which led him to forego a concert and a supper with
a company who were inclined to dissipation, in order
to enjoy a walk and the society of an excellent friend.
This representation is true to nature; for often, with
some such trivial event, comes that great question of
life and death, which, in some way or other, comes to
every man-that question which a Greek mythologist
would express by the startling phrase, "Will you join
the dragons or the gods?" Not a day passes without
verifying this statement; for where is the young man
who is not obliged to consider invitations which, if accepted, will give a new turn to his thoughts, a new character to his company, and affect the whole atmosphere
of moral influence which he will afterwards inhale?
Now, in order that he may safely meet these exigencies, he needs, as the first and greatest aid which an
employer can do somewhat to bestow, a well-spent
SABBATH. " The Sabbath was made for man" by Him
who made man, who understood his constitution and his
wants. It is a heritage for all-a birthright which God
has given to every one. He has shown his regard to
ourphysical wants in the varied gifts of nature so freely
lavished on us; and the addition of the Sabbath to all




DUTIES OF PRINtiPALS.          145
these attests his paternal care for the culture of that
immortal spirit which is destined to rise from the ruins
of the body to a full development of its powers, in a
course of eternal progression. He has engraven the
Sabbath-law, not only on the stone tables of the decalogue, but on the very frame-work of the human race;
for, just as, by observing the alternation of day and night,
we see that the principle of rest, as well as of action, is
a part of the system of the universe, so, by noticing the
different effects of the observance or violation of the Sabbath on the health, strength, and life of active men, (and
indeed of all working animals,) we see that the seventhday rest, as well as the night rest, is a part of this same
system. Man, borne along by the vigor of his mind,
does not show the physical effect of this constant diurnal exertion so soon as the laboring brute, but breaks
down at last more suddenly: as is observed particularly
by Dr. Combe, in his book on health, where he names
several public men, who, acting under the influence of
"ambition, or natural eagerness of mind, have been
suddenly arrested in their career by the inordinate
action of the brain, induced by incessant toil." Yet,
although the voice of nature unites with the voice of
revelation, in the utterance of the command, " Remember the Sabbath-day, to hallow it," the chief benefit of
the Sabbath is not physical, but moral and religious. It
is designed as a counterpoise to those mighty influences
of every-day life which tend to make the soul the slave
of sense and passion-those influences of which, in their
relation to youth, the poet Burns has sung so plaintively:13




146           DUTIES OF PRINCIPALS.
"Alternate follies take the sway,
Licentious passions burn:
This, tenfold force gives Nature's law,
That man was made to mourn."
In order to counteract this tendency of the sc ul to
become the victim of low sensuality, to instruct and
quicken the conscience, to cultivate a taste for sober
truth, to emancipate and exalt the spiritual nature, a
Sabbath is needed by mankind; and the institution
accomplishes these ends by its involving the acknowledgment of our relation to the divine Lawgiver, by
strengthening a sense of accountability to him, calling
off the mind from the visible to the invisible, from the
temporal to the eternal, and by turning the attention
to those momentous revelations which he has addressed
to us in his holy Word. It is a means of improvement which cannot be neglected with impunity. As
every violated law of nature will avenge itself, so will
Sabbath-breaking be followed by special penalties; and
thousands of instances prove that the very FIRST STEP
in that course of youthful determination which ends in
the wreck of character and happiness, has been the
desecration of the Sabbath.
Undoubtedly, a calm survey of things in our great
cities will convince any one that there is very little
danger of exaggerating the importance of the Sabbath
in its relation to young men; for many of those who
have deeply fallen, in retracing their history have
fixed on certain eras of its course, have been led to
confess that some riding or sailing-party, some refectory, or bar-room, or idle company associated with Sab



DUTIES OF PRINCIPALS.          147
bath-dissipation, marks the sharp turning-point of life's
downward path; and that the retrospect forces them to
say with poor Gibbs, who suffered death for crime,
"But for the violation of the Sabbath, I might have
been a good and happy man."
And in view of such a class of facts, may we not fairly
appeal to employers with the question, whether it is not
probable that some of the young men within the sphere
of their influence will reap from their Sabbath-violations
such wretched harvests as these persons bewailed too
late? Any one who has had occasion to pass a Sabbath in the vicinity of a large city like New York or
Boston, has probably been s' ruck with scenes which
must give to this inquiry a painful significance. At
Hoboken, or at Chelsea, for instance, during some seasons of the year, what throngs of youth may be seen
riding to places of low resort, to spent the day in drinking, gaming, and revelry; and then again returning
to the city under the maddening excitement of their
sports and cups, pouring forth profanity in their unseemly conversation and their songs, while their looks,
tones, and manners, show that they glory in their recklessness! Some of them, doubtless, are the sons of rich
men, without employment; but most of them are clerks
or apprentices, who can ill afford the mere waste of
money thus incurred, and who are encircling themselves
with the most potent temptations to leap over the
bounds of honesty, and to take by stealth the means
of their demoralizing pleasures. And withal, there is
great reason to fear that many of them have passed
through the initiating process, and have become hard



148           DUTIES OF PRINCIPALS.
ened in the worst of habits, without having felt the
power of one earneest efjWo t on the part of their emvployers
to learn what was actually going on in the shaping of
their destinies, or to win them over to a right moral
and religious observance of the Sabbath. And surely,
seeing that in all these cases the perverted blessing
becomes a curse, that the medicine misused is turned
into a poison, how carefully should an employer guard
against trespassing on a young man's Sabbath, or tempting any one under his influence to part with it for love
or for money.
2. Another moral aid which an employer may confer on a young man, is the expression of a personal interest in his welfare, by means of such friendly suggestions as may rouse him to resist temptation, and to
cherish high aims in the pursuit of life. We could
easily mention instances where a single word of caution
has been attended with a long train of happy consequences. For, sometimes the power of temptation is
unsuspected, and the first yielding to it comes of inadvertence. The demon hides his cloven foot while
smiles wreathe his features, and his lips distil honeyed
words. Thus it was in the case of an ingenuous and
confiding young salesman, who, at the age of twentyone, was fatally injured by the company he happened
to meet at a restaurant. At first he had resorted
thither merely to save his time, and the necessity of a
long walk in obtaining his meals. No doubt, his ey(
had been attracted by the choice birds displayed at the
door, ard by the tasteful arrangement of the showwindow He had noticed there several times a young




DUTIES OF PRINCIPALS.          149
man somewhat older than himself, who one day addressed him by inviting him to enjoy a very fine cigar,
from a box imported by a friend. The invitation was
accepted. Next followed a proposal to step into an
adjoining billiard-room where several were engaged in
playing for money. " Let's watch the progress of the
game," said his new acquaintance. Having assented
to this, in a few moments he became deeply interested.
Ere long, he was asked to try himself, for a small sum.
Nothwithstanding his want of practice, his hand, his
eye, and aim, and steadiness of nerve, were praised.
To his own astonishment, he succeeded; for there are
places where novices are always allowed to succeed
in their first efforts. Then came the soft insinuation,
"It is easy for you to win!" This was a new idea.
Its effect was electrical. A new charm invested the
terrible amusement, and his whole mental energy became absorbed in its pursuit. He soon sought deeper
and deeper play; dollar after dollar was won, the routine of his business became tedious and distasteful, and
in due time his experienced and skilful tempter, in one
fatal hour, swept from him all he possessed, and left
him ruined as to his purse, his peace of mind, and a
reputation more precious than gold. What a wreck of
character and happiness was this! And yet it might
have been prevented by the timely hint that would
have led him to spend in a better place that noonday
hour when his unguarded feet first trod the path of the
Destroyer.
3. Another mode in which an employer may afford
moral aid to a young man, is to furnish him incentives
13*




150          DUTIES OF PRIN-CIPALS.
to occupy his hours of leisure usefully, so that by means
of books and associations for the pursuit of knowledge
he may find scope for his love of excitement. For
here we have named a mighty element of temptationthis love of excitement which glows in every human bosom, which, in its intenser actings, has set one
adrift from home to roam the ocean, lured by the
romance of a sailor's life; has impelled another to court
hardships in travelling over continents and mingling
with foreign nations; has led a third to abandon the
retreat of quiet affluence in order to embark his capital in commercial enterprise; which was in an ancient
age the soul of war, of chivalry and crusades, and is
now the spring of that activity which is turning the
Western forest into a garden, peopling the golden soil
of California with Northern youth, and disturbing the
haunts of the savage with the whiz of the steam-car
or the hum of the factory. Now he who is at the
head of an establishment in business, finds scope and
play for this love of excitement in managing his affairs,
in grappling with difficulties, and in his forecast for
the future. In this, however, the clerk or the apprentice does not participate. He goes through the routine
of his duties, perhaps becomes jaded with them for
want of a genial interest, and then where shall he find
the mental excitement which he craves? It is this
desire which lays his soul open to the worst of snares.
One fact stated in a public document speaks volumes on
this subject. It was in evidence before the grand jury
in Boston, some time ago, that one of the city police
officers, on a Saturday night in November, during a




DUTIES OF PRINCIPALS.          151
walk of less than a mile in extent, passed more than
one hundred persons, mostly young men, in a state
of partial or entire intoxication  Had these all
fallen on a Mexican battle-field, the whole country
would have mourned their loss. Had their corpses
been brought home for burial, the city would have
been clad in funeral drapery, and the sad array would
have awakened in every breast those deep emotions
which no words, or plaintive music, or outward signs
of grief, could adequately express. Yet here were the
evidences of a more tremendous ruin, exciting in the
hearts of mothers and sisters a keener sorrow which
no voice of public sympathy could soothe, and calling
forth tears the more bitter because they were shed
only in silent solitude.
The commencement of such a career is easy-the
return difficult, though not impossible. Oh for the
prevention-the prevention I This is worth more than
the cure. And what is this? It is to guard against
the first steps. It is to surround the young mind with
counteracting influences and good associations. It is
to have an eye and a heart for the welfare of those
under your care when they are away from you, instead
of verifying the proverb, "Out of sight, out of mind."
It is to appeal to them by all the power of personal
address and by all the worth of your friendship. It is
to arouse in them a desire for self-improvement-a
preference for those associations of which mental culture is the object; to quicken within them the love of
knowledge, and, by encouraging their hopes of success
in business, to stimulate their minds with an excite



152           DUTIES OF PRINCIPALS.
ment like that which imparts to your own a degree of
tone and energy. If, in the city, they are at a distance
from their early homes, it is to find a place for them
as much like a home as possible, and not leave them
to form their first acquaintanceships amidst the chancecompany of a boarding-house, of which neither knows
the character. It is to open to them the path to such
society as will meet the demands of their social nature,
from its adaptation to both please and profit them:
for it has often happened that a young man's acquaintanceship with a single family has become the great
conservative power of his character, the guiding-star in
his moral firmament, shedding its benignant rays over
that trackless deep on which he has been tossed in succeeding years.
Above all, it is imperatively necessary to favor
every influence which shall tend to build up character
on the foundation of religious principle.  This is a
solid and enduring basis. " The fear of the Lord is
the beginning of wisdom." Without this source of
strength, there can be but slight grounds of trust that
any human character will withstand the assaults of
temptation. Intellectual culture and good social influences may do much to form correct tastes and sound
morals; but there are trials wherein the soul needs
stronger defences than these can furnish —trials in
which those maxims, resolutions, and habits, which
sufficed in ordinary times, become like battlements of
wood before a spreading flame. It is only character,
with whose interior elements religious principle is so
thoroughly incorporated as to form a part of its very




DUTIES OF PRINCIPALS.          153
substance, that can como forth from the fires of temptation, like golden ore from the furnace, purified from
dross and increased in value.
It is not likely that these pages will fall into the
hands of any employer who would not be glad, if he
had the opportunity, to put forth an effort in behalf of
any one of his young men, in order to save a large
earthly fortune from threatened ruin. But how much
greater will be the joy in the retrospect of life, of having aided effectually to secure to them a treasure which
no thief can steal, no calamity destroy; lasting as eternity, and more precious than a thousand worlds I




dies      of t|ing Welt it t$ir
fmpoagers.
"THOU HAST BEEN FAITHFUL OVER A FEW THINGS, I WILL MAKE
THEE RULER OVER MANY THINGS."-Matt. xxv. 21.
HAVING called the attention of employers to some
of those imperative duties which relate to the
young men under their care, we would now address a
few considerations to those young men themselves,
who have entered into the relations which they hold
to their employers in order to become prepared for
their chosen pursuits. These have reached the most
critical period of life. There is an obvious reason why
the season of clerkship or apprenticeship should be so
regarded. It belongs to the portion of time devoted
to preparation for the duties and cares of a profession,
for the toils and the struggles by which each is to work
out the problem that involves his own failure or success; and of that preparation it is the closing period.
If in earlier days much time has been lost, there is yet
some chance for redeeming it; if mistakes have been
made, they may now in a great degree be rectified.
(1a)




DUTIES OF YOU-NG MEN.           155
We have sometimes seen that those who have been
negligent of study while at school, and even indolent
in their habits, have been transformed into all that
was active and promising when called to live and
move amidst the stirring scenes of business. A sense
of necessity sharpened their faculties; then, a consciousness of power stimulated them to exertion, and
at last, a real delight in their work became a spring
of constant and successful activity. But if this probation be passed without due improvement, if a young
man fail to gain a thorough knowledge of his calling,
if by yielding to temptation he dissipates his time and
money, and thus forms habits adverse to a life of business, it is almost impossible to remedy the evil; he
starts on the career of manhood quite unfitted for the
race, moves ever with a faltering or a tardy step, and,
in the end, falls short of the goal that shone before
him when " distance lent enchantment to the view."
I. The first important duty with which a young
person should charge himself on entering the establishment of his employer, is to fix his attention on the true
object of the relation which has then begun to exist.
Many have become awake to it just when it was too
late for their minds to feel its quickening influence, and
only in time to regret that they had not seen it before.
As many a student, when about to bid farewell to the
university, has expressed his astonishment that four
years of his life had flown so rapidly away, and also
the wish that he could roll back the wheels of time,
and pass over the course again with a true sense of the
great end and aim before him, so, many a young man




156          DUTIES OF YOUNG MEN.
of business, as he stepped forth from beneath the roof
of protection and guardianship to " set up for himself," to take his place on the arena of competition,
where he would have to cope with the strong and
the experienced, has felt for the first time the responsibility of his position, and has seen the worth of that
preparatory training which alone could qualify him to
grapple with the difficulties, to break the snares, and
escape the perils that beset him. Let him, therefore,
early apprehend the truth that apprenticeship is no
mere formality; that its design is not merely to teach
the theory of a business, or to show him the things to
be done, or how to do them, but to endow him with
that power which comes from a HABIT of doing them.
The "second nature" formed by habit must be one
secret of his success. From this come aptness and
skill. When you observe an attendant in a store
wrapping a piece of goods with neatness and despatch,
it seems easily done; yet even that could not be well
imitated by an untutored hand without repeated trials
It is not enough to see another do it; there must be
the training of practice. It is so in every thing that
may be called professional. Whether you look upon
the sailor who seems to feel as much at home upon the
" high and giddy mast" as does a bird upon the bough,
or the musician who sweeps all the chords of his instrument as with a magic touch, and without the appearance of an effort, or the officer of the bank who
counts vast sums of money with electrical rapidity and
with the coolest confidence, or the accountant whose
books display the mazes of a complicated business with




DUrIES OF YOUNG MEN.            157
a beautiful regularity that gives his work the aspect
of an amusement more than of a task, reflection teaches
you that nothing of this could be accomplished without a close attention and a long practice which have
educated the mind to quickness, and every muscle and
nerve to obedience. But then the acquisition is worth
the cost. To be a thorough master of one's business
adds immensely to his enjoyment and usefulness in
life. At the outset, therefore, of an engagement with
an employer, it is well to be resolved on watching
against every temptation to form lax and careless habits,
to be a loiterer, to do things out of their proper time,
or to yield to those amusements which check the
growth of an energetic interest in your chosen employment. Adopt the maxim of Paul, "not slothful
in business;" even though to carry it out may require
self-denial and discipline. It will lead to success; for
"seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall
not stand before mean men; he shall stand before
kings, and not be ashamed."
II. In subordination to this rule, is another still more
particular, the adoption of which has been productive
of good effects: this is, conform yourself to all the regulations of the establishment. It was a wise saying of the
old Persians, that no man is fit to command who has
not learned to obey. The discipline of their public
schools, as exhibited by Xenophon, was very minute,
and conformity to laws apparently trivial was deemed
important as testing and developing character. Every
commercial establishment, especially if it be large, is
like a well-managed ship, under a necessity of being
14




158          DUTIES OF YOUNG MEN.
governed by some specific rules; and conformity to
them is rightfully expected. Even if the rules relate
to small matters, their observance is important in this
connection; for the benefit of strictness is twofold,
affecting both the mind of the employer and your own;
Evidently, it gains his confidence for you, and places
his mind more at ease in regard to the course of his
affairs when he is absent from home. This feeling is
to him of great value, and is produced in his bosom as
much by a strict conformity to his wishes in little things
as in the management of great transactions. Once, a
merchant of New York, while travelling in the distant
West, was heard to say that he was free from all anxiety about the business that he had left behind him,
on account of his entire confidence in his head-clerk,
who, though at that time. quite a youth, let nothing
within his province escape his attention. Surely, the
mental quiet which such a confidence produces is
worth to any man no ordinary price.
Moreover, this habit of strict conformity to an employer's wishes in the smallest matters reacts favorably
on one's own character; for surely, he is best qualified
to take care of his own interests who has learned to
look well after those which another man has committed to him. He who has been careful of his employer's property, is thereby fitted to husband property for himself, and he who gains a reputation for
strict fidelity will lay up a good store " against the
time to come."
But are there not cases to which these remarks do
not, apply? Undoubtedly, where the rules themselves




DUTIES OF YOUNG MEN.            159
are founded in wrong, and are the mere instruments
of fraud and chicanery; where they contravene th3
command of God, which is the Law of laws, conformity
would insure the forfeiture of his blessing and of your
own mental peace. If the business itself which is proposed to you be a bane to society, "touch it not,
handle it not." If it be good in itself, but be conducted by rules which strike at the root of public virtue and fair dealing, yield not up to the moral chains
and slavery which they impose, for the iron thereof
will enter into thy own soul. The bondage which
hampers only the body while it leaves the spirit free
and serene, is more tolerable than that which forces a
man to act contrary to his convictions of right, robs
him of his self-respect, turns conscience into a foe,
jeopards his salvation, and arrays against him the
workings of an overruling Providence. A man may
bear with the frown of his fellow, with the loss of a
place, but these other evils are still more terrible, and
may be eternal. The pains of the flesh are, on the
whole, short-lived; those of " the inner man" are immortal as the soul itself. As saith the Scripture, " The
spirit of a man may sustain his infirmity, but a wounded
spirit who can bear?"
We can easily imagine, however, that some may reply, All this is true; it is very proper that such things
should be said and written by moral teachers; but we
are the victims of a corrupting system from which the
way of extrication is not easy or obvious; we did not,
originate it, but find ourselves encircled within the
ample folds of this mighty net-work, "like the fish of




160          DUTIES OF YOUNG MEN.
the sea., made to be snared and taken." If there were
but few whose demands are at war with our consciences, we could quickly get relief; but now, the alternative before us is, that we do wrong or starve.
Change the system, break down prevailing customs,
and then we, one by one, can carry out our resolutions.
But is it so? Must you sacrifice integrity for bread?
Must you, in fact, cheat or beg? Must you do those
things in trade from which the Turk, guided only by
his Koran, recoils with indignation? And do you
yield to the evil from a feeling of necessity, make that
your apology, and thus drug your conscience with
opiates, lest you writhe under its sting? If it be so,
your case is hard, very hard; and, in some respects,
more deplorable than that of those whose bodies were
the victims of Algerine captivity. But what is to be
done? First, we must say in answer to this question,
that if the circumstances of your probation are made so
severe by the corrupted principles of trade, the thing
to be done is, not to wait for the alteration of the systsm, but to strengthen in your heart the principle of
resistance.  Rise superior to the system.  Such a
moral heroism is not quixotic. Many have put it forth
in practice, and have triumphed. We have known
young men who have refused to change invoices, or
make false entries, or say that an article cost more than
it did, or engage in any kind of false dealing, who
have scemed to risk every thing, but, in fact, have at
last gained every thing. The trial may be severe, but
the triumph will be the greater. Therefore, " to your



DUTIES OF YO'U-G MEN.          161
self be true;" " have faith in God;" for mighty is the
truth and will prevail.
Then again, observe, in regard to the great system
of trade, if the majority, or a large proportion of the
youth of this country were imbued with such a morally
heroic spirit as would strengthen them to take a just
position in favor of honorable dealing, trade would be
relieved from the stigma cast upon it, because the system
would thus become conformed to the law of rectitude.
If the principles of truth and justice were impressed
effectually on one generation by the teachings of the
family, the public-school, tle Sabbath-school, the sanctuary, and by individual examples, our national character would be brightened, the snares of business would
be removed, the realm of trade would not be so thickly
set with traps for consciences, and succeeding generations would start forth on their career with greater
advantages.
Let not the young clerk or apprentice, therefore,
succumb to wrong, saying in a desponding tone, "I
have no influence; I must submit and bide my time.'
Carry out into action your knowledge of the RIGHT,
and you may have more power than you suppose.
The Almighty Ruler of the universe will prove himself the patron of virtue, and will be your helper.
Take his Word for your guide. Let the principles laid
down in the book of Proverbs form your rules. Then,
if constrained to differ from your seniors, let it be seen
by your prompt attention to every duty, and by the.
courteousness of your manners, and by your generous
efforts to please them, that you are governed by no
14*




162          DUTIES OF YOUNG MEN.
mere whim, by no element of fanaticism, but by the
dictates of reason, of conscience, and of Christianity.
Surely, in this way, you will not only win respect, but
will find all the ministries of Heaven, and all the
workings of Providence, to be on your side. -As the
voice of a child has been the occasion of a reform in a
family, when all higher teachings had been in vain, so
a young man who maintains his integrity amidst corrupting scenes of business, may put forth an influence
more far-reaching than his voice, penetrating as light,
and purifying as a hidden fire.
III. A third observation which suggests itself in this
connection, relates to the duty of self-improvement. Be
firmly resolved to cultivate your intellectual and moral
nature. In carrying out such a resolution, three things
demand special care. (1.) The first is a good economy
of those hours which may be at your own disposal.
Probably there is many a young man to whom the
thought will occur, when this subject is mentioned,
that he has so little time at his command, any purposes
which he may form respecting it would not' amount to
much. Yet certain it is that he who knows not the
value of a little time, so as to make it tell on some
result, would squander much if he had it in his power
to do so. TIME IS MONEY, says Franklin; and surely,
he who throws away cents will waste dollars; so, he
who is careless of minutes will waste hours. " Young
gentlemen," once said Prof. Anthon to a class of Freshmen, "I doubt not you will all make good scholars, if
no one of you will imagine that ten minutes is too small
a fragment of time to use profitably in study."  A




DUTIES OF YOU G MEN.          163
great deal may sometimes be done in ten minutes.
Attention to a remark like that has made the fortune
of many a student. For want of sober calculation on
this point, many useful things which might be done,
are never attempted. To illustrate this, observe the
following conversation, which, in substance, took place
between a young clerk and his old teacher in the Sunday-school.
Teacher.-Some time ago, you mentioned to me that
you had no doubt that the acquisition of the French
and Spanish languages would be of great service to you
in the course of your business. Have you yet undertaken to learn either of them?
Clerk.-No, Sir; I have been discouraged by the
want of time.
T.-Why, have you not a single hour out of the
twenty-four at your command for any study?
C.-Yes, I could get that, but it would be a slow
work to acquire a language in that way.
T.-Suppose that you had nothing to do for the next
two months-would you make a beginning?
C.-Immediately.
T.-Probably, in your active business life, there never
will come a year when you will have more than two
months' vacation. And if you had, it would not be
for the health of your body or mind to devote more
than five unbroken hours every day to close study. If,
however, you should do that, you might make great
proficiency in the acquisition of a language within the
period we have mentioned.
C.-True; I have no doubt of it.




164          D'UTIES OF YOUNG MEN.
T.-Shall I tell you how to gain that time this year?
C.-I should be glad to know.
T.-Well-begin and persevere in using your one
hour a day.   Five hours' study per day for two
months (leaving out Sundays) would make about 265
hours. But one hour's study per day for a year
(leaving out Sundays) would be 313 hours, so that you
have at command more than two months of study the
present year. And one hour a day for a year, well
employed, would enable you to accomplish more in the
study of a modern language for purposes of business,
than the whole of that time given to you in a mass.
We believe this view of the case to be just. And
how obvious is it that this remark applies not only to
the study of a language, but to the study of political
economy, or of history, or of the Bible, or of any
other subject; and how applicable are the words of the
poet, who says,
"The shortest space which we so lightly prize
When it is coming, and before our eyesLet it but slide into the eternal main,
No realms, no worlds can purchase it again."
(2.) Connected with the right use of time is the right
use of MONEY. "lie who is faithful in the least, is
faithful also in that which is much;" and he who has
learned how to spend well his pocket-money while
young, is preparing to appropriate large sums prudently
in maturer years. The habit of spending immense
sums uselessly in manhood, comes of spending small
sums worse than uselessly in early life.




DUTIES OF YOUNG MEN.            165
It was a good suggestion which was once made by a
clergyman to a young married couple, when they were
about to commence housekeeping, to procure a neat
book-case, and to fill it only as they might have opportunity to procure such select works as they needed  It
stood a long time in its place before it was well stored,
but it was an object of interest to both of them to'
devote what money they could spare in order to supply
its empty shelves; and when at last they saw it filled
with volumes, most of which they had read together,
they would not have parted with them for twice their
cost. How much more satisfactory were such mementoes of money spent, than an account-book filled with
the memoranda of the same amount dissipated in trifling
amusements, like precious seed scattered on arid sands,
to perish fruitlessly! The suggestion here referred to
is as applicable to a young man who has a room, to
himself, as to those who are heads of families.
(3.) Connected with the right employment of time
and money, as a means of self-improvement, is the
faithful use of THE SABBATH. In the conversation
which we have cited, between the old teacher and the
young clerk, respecting the worth of an hour per day
throughout the year, for purposes of study, the Sabbaths were properly left out of the calculation, because
these are appropriated by the Author of our being to
the care of our spiritual interests. Fifty-two Sabbaths
a year is the birthright of every man, of which he may
not lawfully be deprived, and which no one may sell
for a mess of pottage. Whatever might be the price
in such a traffic, it would, at last, seem mean enough,




166          DUTIES OF YOUNG MEN.
compared with the value sacrificed. If your Sabbaths
be habitually misspent, every good pi nciple of your
character will be weakened. When I think of a man
posting books, all enwrapped in business on this sacred
day, whose winged hours, stealing softly by, seem to
invite his thoughts to the infinite and the eternal, I
imagine that I hear the angel of destiny proclaim, " He
is joined to his idols; let him alone." With equal
power does this solemn sentence arouse my fears when
I observe a young man yielding to the temptation
which entices him to take the Sabbath for rides, and
sports, and sensual recreations; as if the Divine provisions for his moral good were superfluous; as if
indeed he had no soul to save. In this way his spiritual energies are destroyed. Yet true it is that every
Sabbath renews, in some form, the temptations described in the early part of our Saviour's history. When
the Sabbath-bell calls man to "worship the Lord our
God, and him only to serve," then the evil one holds
forth the baits of sensual pleasure, saying, " These will
I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me."
But to accept these terms is to make a wretched bargain. These rosy, blooming pleasures soon shed their
fragrance.  By these "man cannot live."  A good
plan of spending the Sabbath is of inestimable worth,
and this, in every case where it is possible, embraces
the engaging a seat in some particular church-a seat
which one can call his own-occupying it regularly,
and also some hours set apart for religious reading.
He who is faithful in this, will have reason to adopt a
sentiment of Mr. Wilberforce, recorded in his journal:




DUTIES OF YOUNG MEN.            167
"I thank God for the institution of the Sabbath; and
may I so use it as to find that by its means my errors
are corrected, my desires after good quickened, and my
whole soul animated in my Christian course!"
IV. It may not be amiss to add a few words in regard to the choice of friends. You will have need of a
friend, one or more, on whom you can rely for sympathy and counsel. "But a faithful friend, who can
find?" The question implies a difficulty, not an impossibility. An oriental writer has said, "Be in peace
with many, nevertheless have but one counsellor of a
thousand." Trust not the over-credulous-for his judgment is not good: nor, on the other hand, trust the
over-suspicious; for when a man distrusts all others,
he is unsound at heart. Put not yourself in the power
of a covetous person, especially if he be an old man;
for there is no kindness in his bosom. And if he be
professedly religious, it is very likely that his theory
of religion makes covetousness a virtue under the
name of frugality. Beware of him, for he is conscientiously cruel.  Beware also of slighting religion
itself on his account, for it would be foolish to wrong
your own soul because you can prove your neighbor a
hypocrite. In every engagement with such a one, however, be exact to the letter, and be not satisfied to leave
any point with his saying, I'll do what is right about
it.' The supreme love of money is a hellish as well as
an earthly passion; it denies the reality of a generous
spirit, it mocks at mercy, it confounds all distinction
between right and wrong, between justice and oppression. If you would gain true friends yourself, you




168          DUTIES OF YOUNG MEN.
must aim to be worthy of them; for the wise man
well said, " He that hath friends must show himself
friendly."
Friendly reader! I would close these remarks by
wishing you success in the business of your life. But
why should I breathe such a wish?  Merely for the
enjoyment which success may confer during the brief
period of this your fitful, feverish existence? No.
That would be too mean an object to fill the heart of a
Christian man, too low to awaken a desire so strong as
that with which this wish is uttered. It is that, acting
in accordance with the principles here suggested, you
may nobly fulfil your mission to the world, "serve
well your generation," your country, and your racethat in all things pleasing Christ, who, "though he
was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we
through his poverty might become rich," your success
on earth may enhance your treasure in heaven. Be
sure, first of all, that you dedicate your heart, your
faculties, and your property to his service.  Then,
when He who hath said, " Occupy till I come," shall
summon you to the reckoning, you will not dread the
meeting, but will hail it with a welcome, and hear that
approving sentence, which enfolds within itself all
eternal blessings, "Well done, faithful servant: thou
hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee
EULER OVER MANY THINGS: enter thou into the joy
of thy Lord."




'je EAse ant I                bIse        of
"THEY THAT USE THIS WORLD, AS NOT ABUSING IT."
IN our reasonings touching matters of right and wrong,
how often does it happen that whilst our perceptions of general principles are clear, nevertheless,
when.we come to apply those principles in practice,
the judgment falters at the point of action, so that we
grope like travellers who are suddenly surrounded by
a bewildering mist! The difficulties that perplex us
in such cases spring mainly from the varying, doubtful aspects which certain practices assume; now, perhaps, from the ill effects which have followed what
seemed to be a good, and now, again, from the seeming
benefits and the high examples which sustain and
honor what we had deemed a real evil. Something
adventitious to the subject has distracted the mind in
every effort to decide the moral character of the thing
in question. The habit of social drinking, for instance,
which has made so many millions of wretched victims,
has recommended itself to young and ingenuous minds
15                     (1)60




170               AMUSEMENTS.
more by incidental associations than by its own intrinsic charms; more by the fashion which upheld it and
the names which dignified it than by its own power of
temptation.  These adventitious circumstances have
thrown around it an alluring guise, by means of which
it has fatally enamored many who would have spurned
it from them had they tried it at first by any fixed
principle of morals; but who, at last, have yielded to
its sway as completely as did that old Roman who declared that he would sooner believe drunkenness to be
right than that Cato could be guilty of doing wrong.
Thus has it happened sometimes in regard to a number of fashionable amusements. Many a man of social
spirit, many a youthful Christian has carelessly complied with the invitation of some friend, or party, to
visit a chosen resort, and to wile away an evening
hour in some favorite amusement.  While scarcely
conscious of it, he has breathed a tainted atmosphere;
his taste has become vitiated, and his moral feelings
somewhat benumbed. Then, if he have any principles,
he is unable to apply them with decision; and if he
have none, he is wont to imagine that his own good
sense will teach him "how far to go." Fatal mistake!
He is really out on life's deceitful sea, like a bark without a helm of sufficient power to command her course
over the stormy surge or drifting current. A young
man moving amidst scenes of excitement, where Fashion holds her court and utters her decrees to pliant
throngs, without any principles to guide him in the
choice of amusements, determining every question concerning them merely by taste and impulse, can no more




AMUSEMENTS.                171
distinguish the good from the evil than an infant can
distinguish between medicine and poison. The very
slave, the devotee of amusement, he must become, for
there is no law of the unaiverse to interfere with that
result. The passion for amusement "grows by what
it feeds on," and, ever loth to keep its place as a ser
vant to the reason, aspires to guide and reign. Alway,
craving and insatiate, it follows temptation blindly, and
then, amidst many bitter disappointments, verifies a
poetic description of its nature:
That love of pleasure, endless thirst,
Which e'en by quenching is awaked,
And which becomes or blest or curst
As is the fount whereat'tis slaked.
According to their use or their abuse, amusements
may become the means of enlivening or of paralyzing
the moral powers, of strengthening or of weakening the
intellect, of quickening the whole soul into a healthful
and joyous activity, or of bringing over it a deadly
torpor to disqualify it for all its high and serious duties. Better would it be to have none than those which
generally prove to be mere baits to ruin-nets spread
around the paths of society to decoy and entrap the
unsuspecting. But as the abuse of them furnishes no
solid argument against their proper use, I will now
proceed to consider,
I. THE NECESSITY AND DESIGN OF AMUSEMENTS.
II. SOME PRINCIPLES WHICH MAY GUIDE US IN
THE CHOICE OF THEMI.




172                AMUSEMENTS.
The first topic involves the inquiry whether amuse,
ment is needed to supply the real wants of our nature.
In regard to this point, it appears to us that the history of our race, the human constitution, the tendencies of childhood, the means of enjoyment provided
by our Creator, all indicate that amusement is not only
allowable, but necessary for us. The necessity arises
from the unalterable condition in which man finds
himself. In all the relations of life he has important
duties to perform, and faculties adapted to their performance.  Connected with all these relations and
duties, there is somewhat of labor, responsibility and
care, which tend to exhaust our energies; and which,
if permitted to press beyond a certain limit, impair the
power of action. The most industrious often suspend
their labors with a sigh; and if they do not learn the
proper bound whereat to pause, a derangement or destruction of the faculties must ensue. One of the most
devoted workers in the cause of humanity, acknowledged in his last sickness that he had erred by this
inattention to the laws of his nature, and that he was
dying on account of having had too much to do. Sir
Humphry Davy, by the incessant tension of his mind
in his chemical pursuits, induced a disease which
brought him to the verge of the grave in the midst of
his usefulness. The old proverb, "It is better to wear
out than to rust out," is undoubtedly true; but it is
wrong to become deaf to that voice of nature which
demands a constant alternation of action and repose.
In such a case, where God's law is plain, a persevering
and wilful transgression of it would be aklin to the




AMUSEMENTS.               173
crime of suicide. Every one can see that, as it would
be sinful to stimulate our faculties to an unnatural
intensity of action by any poisonous drug which, in
the end, must weaken them, so, voluntarily to overwork
them when they cry out for rest or refreshment, is a
thing in its nature wrongful. Justice and mercy both
forbid us to overwork a beast; and when men, mad
with the love of money, have denied themselves all
the means of domestic and social enjoyment until they
have become the victims of incessant toil, they have
been condemned by the universal suffrage of the world
for having neglected the duties which they owed to
themselves, to their country, and their God.
We need not wonder, therefore, that in the history
of the earliest ages, and of every people, the common
amusements form an important feature. In patriarchal
times, the cares of pastoral life in the East were lightened by festivals, by rural sports and music; and all
joyous occasions were signalized by mirth and songs,
accompanied by the tabret and the harp. When the
Jewish people assumed a more compact form, with a
code of laws and a ritual, this want of our nature was
provided for; their holidays were numerous, and their
religious service was not only distinguished by the
awful and the grand, but by its tendency to inspire
vivacity and cheerfulness.
Indeed, our views of the character of a people must
be very deficient, unless we have a knowledge of their
prevailing amusements. We are not to judge of them
by these only, but these are never to be overlooked in
relation to the classes who favor or oppose them. What
15*




174               AMUSEMENT?
can give us a clearer idea of the fIttal.woJ. -it. wlch
the love of pleasure ruled the Athenians, than to consider that it was by means of the THEATRE that the
enemies of Socrates procured his death; that notwithstanding all the reverence which the people felt towards the philosopher, and all their gratitude for the
renown which he had brought to his country, their
sentiments were quickly changed under the spell of a
comedy filled with satire from the pen of Aristophanes,
by whom they were thus impelled to pass that act of
condemnation which inflicted a deep wound on the
republic, filled their own bosoms with shame, and has
drawn from the men of every succeeding generation
the tears of sympathy and sadness? What can exhibit more vividly the heroic sternness which characterized the Roman people than their refusal to allow
their priests, or statesmen, or honorable youth, to associate with those whose profession was play-acting?
And what more clearly shows the need of the softening influence of pure religion to prevent that rigid
heroism from degenerating into absolute cruelty, than
to look at the amusements of their vast and splendid
amphitheatres? There, what a scene of grandeur and
of terror greets your eyes, when thirty thousand people are assembled and ranged on seats which rise one
above another in beautiful gradation around a circle
or an ellipse, waiting for the promised entertainment!
Hark to those shouts of the multitude! Behold the
naked gladiators entering from opposite points, proud
in their bearing, whilst they attract the gaze of so much
rank and wealth, and youth and beauty; then, the




AMUSEMENTS.                175
brandishing of their dazzling blades, the fierce onsetthe strength and skill displayed by each; the thrust,
the foil, the rapid pass, the parrying stroke, the effective blow —the alternation of hope and doubt, of triumph
and despair-the loss of blood, the faintness, the reeling, the last agony, the fall of the unfortunate combatant,
and the quick appeal which flashed from the conqueror's eye, as, with his foot upon his victim's neck, he
looked towards the mighty crowd, in order to learn from
the turning of their thumbs, whether he should kill or
spare a prostrate foe, whom he would fain butcher,
"to make a Roman holiday."
Well did the old Athenian exclaim, when it was
proposed to introduce these combats into his beloved
city, " First break down the altar of Mercy which our
ancestors have erected."
Nothing is more evident than that, while amusement is to be recognized as a want of our condition, it
is in itself very liable to abuse, because it addresses the
weaker parts of our nature; approaches us with the
aspect of a tempter; if indulged a little too far, tends by
its fascinations to lessen our zest for serious business,
proposes itself as the chief business, seeks to rule where
it ought to serve, unnerves where it ought to strengthen,
and destroys where it ought to build up a noble and
manly character. To prevent such issues, it must be
kept true to its legitimate design, which is best expressed by a word, often used as synonymous. That
word is RECREATION. To re-create the energies of the
nervous system, to soothe and exhilarate the mind, to
impart to it a healthful tone, and to render it more apt




176               AMl USEMENTS.
for all its duties, is the proper purpose of amusement.
It is needed therefore, more or less, by all; because, as
we have already said, the mind is like the bow-" o'erbend it, and it breaks." Yet, this strong hold which
it has upon our nature, makes it an element of power
which may be wielded for great good or evil. Hence,
it has been seized with avidity, and made to play an
important part in the schemes of those who would
prevent men from rising to the dignity of self-government-of those who, in order to make others their
tools, would first weaken them by vice-of despots,
who, to establish their authority securely, have studied
all the arts of keeping the people quiet. On the Continent of Europe it is the aim of the royal governments
to have "the masses" all-engrossed with amusement.
They use the money of the nationi to corrupt it, and
tempt the active spirits of the multitude to desecrate
the Sabbath, and to waste their time in spectacles and
sports. When the Emperor Napoleon observed one
day that the Parisians were rather restless, pointing to
a splendid edifice within sight from his window, he
gave the order, " Go-gild the dome of yonder hospital." Paris, he saw, must have something to look at
and talk about. So, now, the government of France
is as careful to appropriate money to support the theatre, as to support a standing army. In Italy, the
traveller, having arrived at Rome, notices that churchceremonies are set down in his guide-book among the
amusements of the place, and the Papal court is liberal
in providing shows of other kinds. In Austria, the
Emperor is called the father of the people-lis govern



AMUSEMENTS.               177
ment is styled paternal; accordingly, throughout the
empire none of his children, great or small, can pass
the boundary without permission; and over them all
he seems to watch with deep solicitude lest they should
be injured by going from home, or by mingling too
freely with strangers. Foreigners are tracked by spies
as keen in their pursuit as hounds scenting their game;
and foreign literature, scanned at first with suspicious
look, is often condemned with Vandal rudeness. A
strange book in a traveller's package is handled as if
it might contain the plague. New light and knowledge are fenced out of the realm, and to the officers of
state, foreign newspapers are objects of dread and horror. To balance these restrictions, the people are supplied richly with amusements; Vienna is made one of
the most lively of capitals, and a public, thus engrossed, have a universal air of ease and gayety. Some
American tourists have seemed to envy them all this,
and to wish that here, at home, we had more of their
constant hilarity. But why should the lack of this be
a subject of complaint? If this Austrian happiness be
a blessing, it can be procured as cheaply by us as by
any other people. Doubtless, in this land there are
statesmen, naturally wise and liberal, who would furnish us all with amusements at their own expense, if
we would allow them to tax us, support a standing
army, and manage our affairs as they please. This
freedom from care is a privilege which will always be
in the market, when the people are willing to pay
their LIBERTY as its price. And this they will surely
be willing tc do,:' amusements should here become a




178               AMUSEMENTS.
popular idol; if a passion for it should reign in our
youth without control, should grow with their growth,
strengthen with their strength, and absorb the energy
of manhood. Then, Americans would have no moral
force whatsoever to resist the wiles and the demands
of those political desperadoes of whom every age brings
forth its share. What was it that paralyzed the nerve
and took away the heart of Athens, once able to set
all Asia at defiance? It was the idolatry of amusement, nourished by Pericles, an ambitious corrupter of
her own sons, who, notwithstanding all the splendors
of his administration, and all the memorials of art that
he left, did more to lay her glory in the dust than all
her foes of Persia or Macedon. And if now, in the
progress of European manners and influence amongst
us, the supreme love of amusement shall enervate the
character of our American youth, they will be utterly
unfitted for the strife of mind, the toils and cares necessary to sustain a republican government, and will
sink down passively under the sway of those who by
the energy of their nature will verify the pretension
that they were "born to command."
If, then, recreation be a want of man, if it be necessarily liable to abuse, even to degenerate into low and
dissipating amusements, let us see if we can guard
against the evil, and yet secure the good. In order to
do this, we will set forth,
II. PRINCIPLES WHICH ARE TESTS OF THE CHARACTER
OF AMUSEMENTS.
Every amusement which addresses itself to unhal



AMUSEMENTS.                179
lowed passions must be disallowed by the Christian law.
Such are all those which involve cruelty in their pursuit, as did the lion-fights of Rome, as do the bullfights of Spain and South America, the fights of gamebirds in England and in this country, as well as those
pugilistic combats which have of late presented such
spectacles of sin and shame in some portions of our
land.
Proscribed, too, by this law, are all forms of GAMING
in which one's success must be at another's expense,
and which are ever tending to awaken suspicion, jealousy, envy, fixed malice, wrath, strife, despair. We
know that there is much in a name, and certainly, the
vocabulary of this world was never more accurate than
in designating as hells those places where the spirit of
gambling reigns. All fiend-like passions riot there;
and to see those passions in full play, and all the horrible issues to which they lead, would shock the soul
of that young man who may be now taking the first
steps in that career which reaches unto such a fearful
termination. Yes, you who say, "I'll play a little,
but within proper bounds-will carefully control myself, and never hazard all upon a single throw," remember that those men whose aspect is so revolting, and
whose hearts are so desperate, thus began, impelled by
that love of excitement which now tempts you to
touch and handle-which grows by each indulgence,
and, though at present a gentle zephyr which you can
guide, must soon become a furious blast to drive you
onward,




180              AMUSEMENTS.
Like a ship dashed by fierce encountering tides,
And of her pilot spoiled.
The biography of gamblers will furnish manifold proof
of my assertion on this point. One who had wasted
much of his life in this way in New York, said, in answer to the question, What was the largest sum which
you ever won at a sitting?-" Why, when I was a
young fellow, I won one night thirty thousand dollars
at a brag. I played all night, and lost it all back except eight hundred dollars; and I would have lost that,
but that it was Sunday morning, and hearing the bells
ring for church, I recollected that I had promised my
wife to go and hear the Bishop preach. So, I washed
my face and hands, smoothed my hair, and with downcast looks and pious features, joined in the Litany and
chanted the Psalms."
But did you never forswear gaming?
" Oh, frequently, but always broke my oath. One
night I lost three thousand dollars-all I had in the
world. I walked home with a friend, in a melancholy
mood; it was past two o'clock, and I invited him to
drink a glass of brandy and water. I swore all the
bitter oaths I could remember, that I never would
handle cards again. While I was thus swearing, feeling
in my pockets for a little loose tobacco, I found a bank
note of a hundred dollars. All my gaming propensities revived in an instant! Let's go back, said I, and
try our luck once more; with this hundred I may win
five thousand.  I went back, and lost the note in
five minutes; and here I am, not worth a penny."




AMUSEMENTS.               181
What chain could be more galling than this, which a
man who thought himself free had forged for his own
soul?
Now, he who considers from what small beginnings
gigantic vices grow, and the power which is exercised
over the young mind by these two simple elements,
-the desire of society and the love of excitement,need not wonder that men of observation, who have
seen much of the world and its ways, should believe
that the practice of card-playing, even for trifling
sums, which is indulged by many a youthful circle,
nourishes a germ of evil; nor that such a clear-sighted
reasoner as the celebrated John Locke should congratulate himself that, though he had kept house nearly
forty years, had been surrounded with a large family,
and had entertained much company, yet he never had
cards, dice, or any implement of gaming, under his
roof. "The hours," says he, " that young men spend
in this way are murdered-precious hours which ought
to be spent in reading or writing, or rest preparatory
to the dawn." How could a man of sense like him
look with any other emotion than that of pity on a
company of human beings doomed to pass an evening
together, yet lacking so much the power of entertaining conversation, as to be obliged to spend their time
in gazing at b;ts of paper marked with parti-colored
spots, caring for aothing but to " kill time;" and yet,
perhaps, fostering a fatal passion which some day may
break out like a fire from under the smouldering ashes,
and consume the bosom that it warmed?
Those amusements, moreover, which arouse a pas16




182                 AMUSEMENTS.
sion for personal display, (always involving, as it does,
those of vanity and envy,) amusements which absorb
much time and thought in preparation, and tend to
exhaust one's nature in their process; which cherish a
spirit of competition, not for intellectual excellence,
but for superior elegance in dress and movement, have
been generally seen to be adverse to this Christian law.
We speak of those of which the words of the old
poet, Shirley, are descriptive:
Another game you have which consumes more
Your fame than purse; your revels in the night,
Your meetings ca2ed the BALL; to which repair,
As to the court of pleasure, all your gallants
And ladies.
It has been the fashion in some quarters to regard a
disapprobation of the ball as an amusement to be one
of the peculiarities of Puritanism.  But this is far
from being true. The fact that the Puritans were adverse to it may have its proper weight, but it is not a
sufficient argument against it. Touching the real merits of the ball as a recreation, let me cite the words of
one who cannot be suspected of any thing very rigid
in his notions-of one who was neither a friend to the
Puritans, nor to Chritianity itself.  "Although," says
Gibbon in his great work on the Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire, "the progress of civilization has undoubtedly contributed to assuage the fiercer passions
of human nature, it seems to have been less favorable
to the virtue of chastity, whose most dangerous enemy
is the softness of the mind. The refinements of life




AMUSEMENTS.                183
corrupt while they polish the intercourse of the sexes.
The gross appetite of love becomes most dangerous
when it is elevated, or rather, indeed, disguised by
sentimental passion. The elegance of dress, of motion, and of manners, gives a lustre to beauty, and
inflames the senses through the imagination. Luxurious entertainments, midnight dances, and licentious
plays, present at once temptation and opportunity to
female frailty."* These sentences, from the pen of one
who loved to plunge in all the pleasures of a European capital, explain the philosophy of this amusement, show the reason why it is considerd dangerous,
and just where the danger lurks. If this be true,
undoubtedly the atmosphere of a ball-room must be
uncongenial with the spirit of a religion which cultivates only pure affections, quickens the aspirations of
the soul after goodness, and educates it on earth for
the society of heaven.
The liability of the art of dancing to various abuses,
its connection with the evils above mentioned, have
furnished to many Christian parents strong reasons
for withholding the knowledge of it from their children. Hence, too, there have often sprung up in the
bosom of a well-ordered family, discussions between
the older and the younger members of it as to the
merits of the case. Sometimes I have found young
Christians, between the ages of eighteen and twentyfive years, whose sphere of social intercourse was quite
extensive, oppressed with difficulty in regard to danc* Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chap. ix.




184                AMUSEMENTS.
ing, on account of their inability to vindicate or explain the opposition to it under all circumstances,
which they have found to exist on the part of their
parents, their friends, and their church. The difficulty
which they have felt may be stated somewhat thus:
It must be admitted, that there can be nothing abstractly wrong in dancing, because it was once sanctioned of Heaven, and practised in religious service.
God could never approve what was wrong in its nature, or necessarily bad. But if religiously approved
and practised once, why should it not be so now? On
what grounds should pious persons be expected to
oppose that which has in its favor the examples of the
best of men, and of all the Jewish people? Can that
be wrong in social life, which was once a part of divine service among the tribes of Israel?*
These are fair questions, and should be fairly treated.
The nature of that opposition to dancing as an amusement, which multitudes of Christians, distinguished by
refinement, wealth, and taste, have cherished, may be
more fully comprehended, if we will look at the subject historically. Let it be observed, then, that the social
dancing of modern Europe, which has been transferred
to America, is neither Jewish, religious, nor simply
calisthenic, as to its origin, but is a daughter of the
Roman dance, which was ever associated with licentiousness. The Greeks had cultivated the art of dancing with an extravagant passion, and were the first to
introduce hired dancers into the theatre; the Romans
*Ex. xv 0. 1 Sam. xviii. 6.




AMUSEMENTS.                 185
followed their example, and thus fixed a stigma on
what had before been deemed a sacred rite or an innocent recreation. Before Christianity was known in
Rome, the respectable portion of society frowned on
these dances. Cicero objected against a Senator, that
he had fallen from the dignity of his station by being
seen to dance;* and the satires of Juvenal prove that
in a succeeding age, these amusements had shamefully
depraved the public manners. At different times, the
Roman Government, under Tiberius and Domitian,
passed severe decrees against them. Of course, we
need not wonder that the writings of the early Christians abound with sharp invectives against a public
amusement on which the Pagan moralists themselves
had stamped the impress of dishonor.
During the reign of Gothic and Vandal barbarism
over the Roman Empire in the middle ages, very little
attention was paid to any of the refinements of life.
But when the modern art of dancing arose in Europe,
it was surrounded with all those associations which
would cause religious persons to revolt from it. At
the festivals of the Italian nobles it was first revived,
and then it appeared in France. The opera in Paris
was originally designed for the representation of lyric
poems; but as soon as its popularity began to decline,
female dancers were introduced to give a novel zest to the
entertainment; an immodest style of dress was allowed
for the same purpose, and thus, as early as the age of
Cicero says, "Nemo fere saltat solivius, nisi insanit."-Scarcely
any unintoxicated man dances, unless, indeed, he is insane.
13* *




186               AMUSEMENTS.
Louis XIV., the Parisians hailed with acclamation the
same gross exhibitions which had been condemned by
the better classes of society in pagan Rome. Invested
with such associations, modern dancing drew the attention of our religious ancestors in England; it wore no
aspect of utility, sacredness, or beauty; and who can
wonder that they repelled it from their entertainments,
their social circles, and their homes? Although, abstractly considered, they might have seen in it nothing
wrong, yet in view of all the circumstances of their
times, they were forced to regard the custom as a sort
of livery in which the "god of this world" had chosen
to array his own votaries. And as now we often find
that persons of taste reject the articles of dress and
ornament which once were beautiful in their sight, but
have afterwards come to appear mean, because adopted
by the low and the abandoned; so, the Christians of
whom we speak, influenced merely by moral taste,
rejected an amusement which had once seemed innocent and beautiful, because it had everywhere become
one of the insignia of worldliness-a badge of recognition worn by those who pursue no end but pleasure,
and worship no God but Fashion.
That dancing, however, is a natural mode of expressing various lively and virtuous emotions, there can be
no doubt. When animated with any joyous feeling,
our very nature prompts us to move, even "the lame
to leap as an hart;" and when a number of persons are
excited by the same cause, as music, poetry, or oratory,
they naturally tend to move together. The Welsh people, who are, as all know, very excitable, have been seen




AMUSEMENTS.                187
to dance under the influence of a sermon from one of their
stirring preachers. This unrestrained mode of manifesting feeling, nevertheless, belongs rather to a state
of barbarism than of refinement. It is the tendency of
civilization to repress all bold and violent methods of
expressing emotion. When Christianity arose in the
world, dancing had already been abused to purposes
of evil, and it was not accordant with the nature of our
religion to sanction it as an act of worship. Although
the word choir in Christian countries originally meant
a dancing company, and dancing in religious service
was practised among the Papists, yet this is to be
classed among the corruptions of Christianity. The
Shakers of our own time are the only people who
maintain it, and their style of execution, though in
some sense impressive, is not remarkably captivating.
But whether dancing, viewed simply as a social recreation, shall ever be disabused of all its evil connections,
and treated with favor throughout the religious community, as it was in the days of the Patriarchs, of
Moses, and of David, remains to be seen. It is not in
the nature of things impossible. If the state of society
should become increasingly pure, such an event would
be more and more probable; for then there would be
less of fear that what is good in itself would be made a
bait to evil. In the combined rhythm of chaste music
and motion to express joyfulness, there is nothing
incompatible with our ideas of the purity of Eden
or of heaven. And if sin were banished from the
world, every faculty, and passion, and social tendency
of man would be consecrated; truly Christian minds




188               AMUSEMENTS.
would give the tone to society; the laws of fashion
would be coincident with the laws of God, and all art,
science, and literature, wealth, music and song, would
be friendly to religion, and enjoyed without the dread
of perversion. But the more corrupt we find the social
condition in which we live, the more need is there of
caution for a Christian man in the use of things which
in themselves are harmless; just as it was in the case
mentioned in his letter to the Corinthians by the
Apostle Paul, who declared, that though it were quite
an innocent thing in itself to go to a social feast and
partake of meat in a temple of idolatry, yet sooner
would he abjure meat for ever, than ensnare another
to pay an act of worship at an idol's shrine.
Viewed simply as a calisthenic exercise in the education of children, the practice of the elementary parts of
dancing has often proved to be beneficial. Regarding
it in this light it is that Dr. Watts observes, in his
treatise on the education of children: "I confess I see
no evil in it. It is a healthful exercise, and it gives
young persons a decent manner of appearance in company; it may be profitable to some good purposes if it
be well guarded against all the abuses and temptations
that may attend it." It is properly a child's amusement,
and has its place in a good system of healthful, physical
training.  The philosopher Locke, in his work on
education, makes a remark similar to that which 1
have quoted from the sacred poet. Mrs. Sigourney,
too, in her letters to young ladies, aptly cites the
observation of Addison, that the principal use of a
lady's being taught dancing is, that she may "know




AMUSEMENTS.                189
how to sit still gracefully;" and then proceeds to say,
"As a mode of exercise in the domestic circle, it is
healthful, and favorable to a cheerful flow of spirits.
I was once accustomed to witness it in a happy family,
where the children, at the close of the reading and lessons which diversified the long winter evenings, rose
to the music of the piano, while the parents, and even
grandparents, mingling with the blooming circle, gave
dignity to the innocent hilarity in which they participated. There was nothing in this to war with the
spirit of the prayers which were soon to follow, or to
indispose to that hymn of praise which hallowed their
nightly rest." A scene like this might, indeed, seem
tame to one who had become fascinated with the gayeties of the ball-room, where the eye is dazzled, the blood
fevered, the night far spent, and the thoughts engrossed
with vanity; but to a mind in health, it will have a
charm superior to all that, because more congenial
with purity of heart and the substantial joys of home.
Let us now advance to the establishment of another
principle which may be fairly considered as a criterion
of amusements. My second position is this: EVERY
AMUSEMENT WHICH NATURALLY TENDS TO UNFIT ONE
FOR THE ENJOYMENT OF THE HIGHEST HAPPINESS OF
WHICH HE IS CAPABLE, IS IN ITSELF MORALLY WRONG.
Is not this self-evident?  Of course, it is clear that
any thing which is at war with man's attaining the
highest end of his being must be an evil. Man is constituted with a sensitive, a social, an intellectual, and a
moral nature. In each of these are sources of happiness. That which arises from a sensitive nature, we




190                AMUSEMENTS.
have in common with the brutes. But in the faculties
of this lower nature they excel us. Who of our race
hath the eye of the eagle, the scent of the hound, the
speed of the horse, or the strength of the lion? Man's
glory is not in his senses, nor does his real happiness
lie within their scope. His highest faculties are those
by which he is distinguished from the brute creation,
those which enable him to discern between right and
wrong-to approve the one and hate the other; those
by which he can see God in all his works, adore and
serve that Being whose love appears in all the round
of his eternal laws, and whose creative wisdom shines
alike in the structure of the glow-worm and of the star.
To man, then, what consuming curses, what masked
assassins are those pleasures which disqualify him for
enjoying the bliss which springs from the exercise of
the noblest attributes of his nature! Such a thing is
that habit of social drinking through which every thing
rational, dignified, and immortal in us, is made an oblation at the shrine of amusement. For it deserves to
be remembered that those generous souls, those "shining marks" at which the monster Intemperance aims
his shafts, are not those who drink at first to gratify an
appetite, but to gratify a social instinct. When the
power of mutual entertainment flags, the stimulating
cup is seized to send the blood more swiftly through
the veins, and to quicken the spirit of hilarity. A
group of young men met at some chosen resort to pass
an evening, simply for the want of some mental incitement, often find that their time moves heavily;
then wine is made to supply the place of wit and of all




AMUSEMENTS.               191
intellectual culture. Each repetition makes them more
dependent on the inebriating draught for all their
"flow of soul," and thus each one chains down to sense
his immortal spirit, blights its sweetest hopes, and
crushes in the germ its opening capacities.
I have now laid down two principles as tests of
amusements, as aids to our choice of them. If by one
or both of these principles you try the THEATRE, it
must be condemned as being in its nature and tendencies the foe of social morality and the public welfare.
In discussing this subject, however, it is a very common thing for writers and speakers to confound all distinction between the drama and the theatre. By the
word drama, we mean a poem accommodated to action;
a production in which the action is not narrated, but
made to pass before you by the persons appearing in
their own characters and speaking for themselves.
Every dialogue is a drama, and in many cases furnishes
the best mode of circulating truth. The Book of Job,
the oldest specimen of sacred literature in the world,
is a drama. The most pious men have written dramas
to illustrate character. The old New England Primer
contains a drama-a dialogue between Christ, a youth,
and the Devil: no parent would object to his children's
reading it; but whether it would be well to fit up a
stage and employ persons to act out the characters, is
altogether a distinct question from that of the utility
of such writings. Evidently, then, to argue, as many
do, from the dignity of the drama to the support of a
stage and of professional players, is to argue very inconclusively. The two should never be confounded.




192               AMUSEMENTS.
Many dramatic writers and readers have opposed the
theatre as a social institution, because they have seen
it to be in every age allied with wrong, a tempter of
youth, and a fountain of corrupting influence.
Yet it has been asked, What harm can there be in
the abstract, for a company of persons to meet together,
and act out certain historical or imaginary characters?
Suffice it to say, in answer to such a question, that
whatever the playing may be in the abstract, it always
comes to you in the concrete, enwrapping many evils.
It might be asked with equal reason, What harm can
there be in the abstract in one man's writing another's
name on a piece of paper? The reply would be, None.
But if you do it under a draft for money, the act would
be called forgery, and you would be liable to imprisonment if detected. Experience points out evils in practice which do not appear in theory.  Hence, even
Rousseau, who had no scruples about attending a theatre at Paris, exclaimed against contaminating the society
of Geneva by erecting one in that beautiful city.
The experience of ages has shown that a high-mindEd and moral stage cannot be supported. Just in proportion as mental culture increases, and men become
able to enjoy the reading of a drama in their own parlors, the rage for stage exhibitions will be diminished.
Some persons who have listened to the lectures of an
able critic on Shakspeare, have found that afterwards
the magic spell of the stage had for them been broken.
They found themselves able to read a drama, either
alone or in company, with a delight which they had
not known before. Then, no ordinary acting could




AMUSEMENTS.                 193
realize their ideal standards of heroic excellence. Such
a fact would naturally work a great change in their
mental tastes. Thus, through the united influences of
an enlightening civilization and the Christian religion,
the theatre has been left to depend for patirnage mainly
on those who, instead of seeking simple recreation,
make amusement the chief pursuit; and invariably, in
such cases, the passion for amusement destroys a nice
sense of moral distinctions, the rage for excitement becomes insanity; and there is a gradual progress from
decency to vulgarity, from vulgarity to obscenity, from
that to utter lawlessness; so that at last a fashionable
audience can gaze without a blush on dancing as licentious as any which was ever seen at a heathen festival,
and greet with high applause the woman who, abaning the modesty of her sex, appears in man's attire,
walks the broad stage with heavy tramp, and roars
with stentorian voice to personify the fiercest of England's warrior-kings. Resting on such a class for support, the theatre will cater for their gross appetites, and
so, by a law of nature, must gravitate toward the depths
of corruption.
Certainly it is not wonderful that when play-acting
becomes a profession, to the members and supporters
of it amusement becomes an ultimate object of pursuit.
They live for it as an end; and it is impossible that
this should be done by any class of human beings without a vitiation of their taste. They become unfit to
judge of what is pure or impure. The experience of
all times proves the truth of this. Some of the very
statements which I have made from observation, would
17




194                   AMUSEMENTS.
appear, from the poetry of Horace, to have been apkJicable to the Roman stage. Stage authors and actors,
he avers, will descend to the corrupt taste of the people.  He describes them     as "buffoons with hungry
jests," and touching the patrons of the theatre, he
exclaims,
Farewell the stage, for humbly I disclaim
Such fond pursuits of pleasure or of fame,
If I must sink in shame or swell with pride,
As the gay palm is granted or denied:
And sure the hard, though resolutely bold,.Must quit the stage, or tremble to behold
The senseless rabble of the clamorous pit,
Though void of honor, virtue, soul or wit,
When his most interesting scenes appear,
Call for a prize-fight, or a baited bear!
Alas! what fools do now in judgment sit
In stolid deafness on the works of wit!
For where's the voice so strong as to confound
The shouts with which our theatres resound?
Loud as when surges lash the Tuscan shore,
Or mountain forests with a tempest roar,
So loud the people's cries, when they behold
The foreign arts of luxury and gold;
And if an actor is but richly drest,
Their joy is in repeated claps expressed.
But has he spoken? No. Whence then arose
That loud applause? His robe with purple glows.
Now, it is a just remark of Sir James Mackintosh,
that every poem, every picture, every statue, every
work of art, is. an experiment on human nature.        In
the institution of the theatre, we have a long-tried experiment; and what is the result?     Is it the improvement of manners, the elevation of taste in the commu



AMUSEMENTS.                 195
nity?  Where is the moral difference between that
which Horace censured in Rome ten years before the
Christian era, and that which has been supported for
the last quarter of a century in New York or Boston,
or any other capital? That the theatre in its actual
operation has aimed to give a certain sort of elevation
to the human sentiments, there can be no doubt; bu
then, from first to last, it has tended, by the aid of pros
tittuted beauty and genius, of literature and art, music
and song, to send its appeals to the inferior feelings
deeply into the soul, to raise them to their highest
pitch of excitement, and to kindle the already excessive fires of passion into a more intense and fiercer
glow. This is the elevation which it has imparted;
the elevation of appetite above reason, of imagination
above intellect, of passion above conscience, of the
lower part of man's nature above the nobler.
Ve believe, then, that to be entirely true in relation
to the theatre which Bossuet expressed to Lous XIV.,
who having asked that writer and prelate his opinion
on the subject, received for an answer: " Sire, there are
for it great examples —there are against it, strong
arguments."
Having now considered the necessity and design of
amusement, the varied aspects which the subject wears,
its peculiar liability to abuse; having laid down several
principles to guide us in our choice of them, it is not
necessary further that I should take the pains to exhibit in detail a list of recreations which are unobjectionable. Even the best may be perverted in a change




196                AMUSEMENTS.
of circumstances. Much must be left to the judgment
of the individual. Our power of abusing things innocent in themselves, constitutes the most serious part of
our probation on the earth, forms the most severe trial
of the character. VWe are too apt to try ourselves only
by great occasions and conspicuous deeds; whereas the
events of every-day life try us, and prove us, and
develop the principles that are within us. We may
serve our Creator as effectually by our lighter as by
our graver employments if both are kept in their proper relations; and I like well the spirit of the Christian student, who, leaving his study for the playground, told an inquiring friend that he was " going
to pitch quoits for the glory of God." Certainly, the
acquisition of health for the performance of his work
might have been at that moment his highest duty.
So in every thing we should regard the end of our
existence. Then all creation will yield us service, and
the spirit, serene within, will answer to the rejoicings
of nature without. Then, whether a Christian find his
recreation on the principle suggested by the old proverb, that " a change of work is as good as a rest," or
give scope to his mirthfulness in youthful sports, gymnastic exercises, ball, or battledore, walking, riding,
fishing, sailing, or enjoying the fine arts of music, poetry, elocution, painting, sculpture, or indulge his taste
for reading and social conversation, or exercise his ingenuity in surrounding his abode with the productions
of nature, or scientific mechanism,-amusements which
shall heighten the charm of home,-he will feel the
happy consciousness that all those arc in harmony with




AMUILTSEfI; ST S.           197
the laws of his moral being; that to them he is sacrificing no higher good; that while they increase the
vigor of his nerve, the bloom of health, the hilarity of
his spirit, they are at the same time occasions of gratitude, wings to devotion, and aids in attaining all the
ends of his earthly and his heavenly life.
17*




Cte         amlig             tibrarg.
"GIVE ATTENDANCE TO READING."-1 Tim. iv. 13.
THERE is scarcely any thing by which the present
age is distinguished from times past more than by
habits of reading, which have become popular and almost universal. How much these have changed the
character and the state of society we cannot clearly
understand without some mental effort. Bad as are
the effects of those books with which a brilliant mind,
animated by the love of money or of fame, now and
then floods the market, yet a broad and fair view of
things must convince us that, on the whole, the Press
is the great elevator of the people. Look back, for instance, a few centuries, and see, throughout the whole
of Europe, what a heavy night of ignorance brooded
over all classes of minds. Very few could either read
or write. Even wealthy nobles were unable to peruse
a manuscript, and private life was marred with quarrels about the meaning of bargains and contracts, because so rarely was any thing committed to paper,
except treaties, charters, and such grave documents as
were written by professional scribes. Place yourself
(198)




THE FAMILY LIBRARY.           199
in a court of justice in Germany at any period of the
twelfth or thirteenth century, and what a scene greets
your eyes! Two men who have brought their cause
to the tribunal of the law, are called forth to fight each
other with deadly weapons in what is termed a "judicial combat," under the full belief that Providence will
interpose to give victory to the right. The decision of
the judge on the bench is challenged, and he is obliged
to vindicate its justice by a resort to arms. Some are
forced to pass the ordeal of exposing their flesh to
boiling water, and others to walk with bare feet over
burning ploughshares. Strange as these practices may
seem to us, they had their origin in a public sentiment
for which we can easily account. The natural appetite of man for knowledge was as keen then as it is
now; but how was it supplied? With the legends of
monks; with wonderful stories of those adventurous
saints whose names now shine in the sacred calendar,
for whose sake Heaven was constantly working the
most stupendous miracles. When men and women,
the young and the old, the prince and the peasant,
were alike accustomed to receive such fictions for facts,
it became, of course, a common belief, that the Almighty might be expected to interfere with the working of general laws in order to protect the innocent;
and, being unskilful in the rules of evidence, and impatient of the toil of sifting it, they declared the issue
of such trials to have been determined by " the judgment of God." But could such ideas ever prevail in
a land where books abound, and where a taste for reading has become popular?  By no means. Worthless




200           TIIE FAMILY LIBRARY.
as are many of the books which in a free country court
attention, a people educated to read will always, on the
whole, choose those which are far better than the grotesque fables of the cloister, or the queer legends of a
superstitious priesthood. Thanks to God that we live
in a country where the press is no longer bound, where
the children of the rich and poor may learn to read
with almost equal ease, where books are scattered
abroad like the leaves of the forest, and where, in spite
of the power of a corrupting literature, every good
man has ample scope to aid in supplying a craving
community with the food which is needful.
In such a state of the world, it is very clear that if
those of us who are in the prime of life would prepare
ourselves for the high destinations to which the signs
of the times beckon us, we must make good use of
this privilege of READING, which may be fairly ranked
among the choicest boons granted of Heaven to this
present generation. Towards doing this, how mightily
have the aids and stimulants been increased of late!
There are those yet alive, in whose youth there were
but thirty-seven newspapers in the United States; but
now, if we estimate the whole number at fourteen hundred, we shall not be far from the mark. A few years
since, the hand-press could cast off but two hundred
and fifty sheets per hour; now the steam-press can cast
off four thousand in the same time. Once it required
five years to prepare a copy of the Bible with a pen;
now, Bibles can be printed with a speed adequate to
any possible demand. Once a copy of that book would
cost a little fort-ne; now, a laborer can procure five




THE FAMILY LIBRARY.           201
for the amount of a day's work. Within the memory
of some printers, a man could cast but five thousand
types a day; now, to cast sixty thousand is no extraordinary thing. Once, paper was a costly article made
by a tedious process; now, rags gathered from all nations are thrown into a mill, and, with little expense of
time and money, they roll out in large and beautiful
quires. Once, after waiting some days succeeding the
arrival of a packet, a few in the city obtained the news
from Europe to peruse quietly by their firesides; now,
within two or three hours after the smoke of the steamer
is seen off the coast, the news from all lands is selected,
printed, cried for sale along the streets-and where is
the man too poor to be a purchaser? Once, only grave
intelligence travelled abroad; now, the slightest incidents which take place here are carried with lightning
speed to the log-cabins of the West, and to the mansions of the eastern world. Science is constantly enlarging her boundaries, creating a new language for
herself, so that in every new edition of an English Dictionary, hundreds of new words are inserted as needing
to be understood by the student, or as having become
familiar among the people.
Now in order that a young man may feel himself at
home among men in an age so rife with intellectual activity, he must gain knowledge; in order to gain knowledge, he must read: and surely, it will not do for him
to lavish his time on whatever may chance to come to
hand, careless whether it be good, bad, or indifferent,
thus allowing his mind to become the sport of accident,
roving restlessly over the field of literature without a




202           THE FAMILY LIBRARY.
worthy end, without the aim to find and reap substantial fruit. True: much that is good may come in his
way, he may pick up much useful information, and all
the while may gratify a voracious mental appetite; but
it will be seen at last that he utterly fails to command
his knowledge, and "digests not into sense his motley
meal."  He who would bear off from the field of literature enduring wealth, must form a clear conception of
the objects to be sought, and must lay out for himself
a course of reading which will lead him to his chosen
ends. If it be his chief desire to gain that general
knowledge which will best fit him, as a man and a citizen, for the duties, the enjoyments, and the honors of
private and of public life, which will expand all his
faculties, and develop his mental character in just and
fair proportions, he needs to take in at a glance the
various departments of learning, to see the land which
he would traverse mapped out before him, and to choose
those paths which will enable him to give to each province and division the share of attention which it deserves. A little thought bestowed on this subject at
the outset, would save to many a vast amount of time,
and by leading them to concentrate their powers on
works of real utility, would impart a fresh zest to their
reading, and make the knowledge which it yields more
available.
In offering these few hints to young men, it may be
well to state the case in view of which this course of
reading was struck out. An esteemed friend, in easy
circumstances, but considerably engaged in business,
was about to be married soon after he had reacued the




THE FAMILY LIBRARY.           203
age of twenty-one. Happening to be with him one
day, whilst he was engaged in selecting furniture for
the house into which he was expecting shortly to introduce his bride, I urged him to purchase a beautiful
book-case which then stood near us. " Why," said he,
" I have but few books, and those are so ill-selected,
that I should be ashamed to place more than half a.
dozen of them where they would seem to court inspection." Very well, I replied; you have given me the
strongest reason for entreating you to put this case
among your choicer articles of furniture; it is just
large enough to hold a respectable family library, and
with such tastes as you possess, I know that you would
be led in due time to have it filled with valuable books,
bought not for show but for use. Your brother, who
is now ten years of age, is to be one of your household, and his character for life may be formed in a high
degree by the books which shall daily greet his eyes
from within those glass doors. Buy it, but do not fill
it hastily. Fix on a plan of reading; see what books
your wants require, and procure such as will be of
lasting worth. A good family library is the choicest
treasure, light, and ornament of home; it throws out
gleams of sunshine in stormy days and nights, by its
subtle magnetic power "puts us in communication"
with the best minds of all ages, cheers our hours of
solitude, and daily imparts new life to the pleasures of
conversation. "You are right," said he, "entirely
right; the article shall be sent to my house immediately;
but let me ask your aid in selecting books of the kind
you recommend." Rather, I answered, let me sketch




204          THE FAMILY LIBRARY.
for you a course of reading, embracing a view of the
various departments of literature with which you will
need to become gradually acquainted, and leave you to
fill up the case at your leisure, according to your sense
of want, and the demands for knowledge which various occasions will urge upon you.
Thus arose before my mind the ideal form of a
family library exhibited in the following pages. It
will be seen, therefore, that in developing it, I address
myself to those who have something to do besides
reading. I speak to those who have a business which
demands their attention, but who, feeling the importance of mental improvement, can manage to devote
three or four hours every day to this purpose. I address those who are not too far advanced in life to lay
out for themselves a course of reading, which, though
they may daily glance as much as need be at newspapers and ephemeral publications, they will yet pursue
through a succession of years, believing that it embraces the elements of a mental culture which will repay
their labors in manifold and ever-spreading harvests of
wisdom and happiness.
Evidently, it would not accord with such a design
to name all the good books, or even all the best, which
one might think of in each department. I must keep
in view the size of the young man's book-case, and
the limits of his time, if not of his purse. By means
of as few books as possible, I would aid him in obtaining that information which is essential to self-culture,
and in becoming naturalized to that realm of polite
and useful knowledge where the intelligent of all lands
------— ~ —-  --  ~ —->- ~~ —-   --  -----




THE FAMILY LIBRARY.           205
meet as on common ground, and in some sort commune
together as a common brotherhood.
First of all, then, the'book which more than one
learned German writer has called " the primitive document of the human race,"*-the book of which Cole.
ridge has well said, "to give its literary history would
be little less than to relate the origin and first excitement of all the literature and science which we now
possess,"t -the book which is composed of many
works, historical, doctrinal, ethical, and poetical, written by various authors, through a range of sixteen
hundred years, and which, since its completion, has
moulded the character and swayed the opinions of the
civilized world,-the book whose moral power over
social man is yet in its early process of development,
-the book which, from its acknowledged preeminence,
is by universal consent called THE BIBLE, puts forth
such kingly claims on our attention, that the first division of a course of reading should undoubtedly be,
THE BIBLICAL DEPARTMENT.
I mention the Bible first on account of its intrinsic
dignity as a revelation from Heaven, and also on account of its connection with every sphere of duty
and every branch of knowledge. Its name may be truly
called "wonderful." It has been the well-spring of
every influence which has wrought a beneficial change
in the social condition of mankind. The Vedas, the
Shasters, and Korans of the Eastern world have kept
* Schlegel, Philos. of Hist., p. 191.  t Lit. Biog., chap. 11.
18




206           THE FAMILY LIBRARY.
the nations subject to them fixed in the bondage of
their old opinions, their superstitions, and their ignorance; but if on a map of the globe you draw a line
around those countries which are distinguished by
knowledge, by civilization, and the triumphs of scientific art, you will have encircled Christendom. It is
true, indeed, that after the Roman Empire with its
ancient civilization had been swept away, and Huns,
Goths, and Vandals, had made Europe a desolation
those barbarians received Christianity in a weak and
corrupted form; among their descendants the Scriptures
were but little understood, church pomps and ceremonies engrossed the mind, and the priest interposed between God and the soul which he had made. In the
best portions of Europe, society did sink, we readily
admit, below the level of its condition in Mohammedan
countries.  But in the midst of that darkness, the
moral power of the Bible became manifest; for when
brought out to the light, translated into the common
language, and circulated among the people, it developed those energies which have set forward the Christian nations upon a career of improvement, so far in
advance of all those idolaters who inhabit Asia and
Africa.
The Bible is the most suggestive book that was ever
written. Search the libraries of the Old or the New
World, and you will find that some of the most costly
offerings laid on the shrine of literature have been
essays, discourses, or treatises, suggested by texts of
Scripture. Often, a single sentence has set on fire some
mighty genius, as a Newton, a Boyle, a Butler, or a




THE FAMILY LIBRARY,             207
Hall, and quickened into life their dormant energies.
If then, one chance to feel himself hard pressed by the
cares of business, let him not slight this book on that
account. If he have opportunity to read a newspaper,
or take a repast, let him also turn one reverent glance
tow-ards the Bible; for a single line drawn from such a
portion as the Sermon on the Mount may come home
to his bosom amid the snares and hurry of the day,
laden with the richest blessings.
One charm of the Bible is this: that while many a
short phrase of it may rouse a child or a man to profitable thought, and while the whole work may be carried in your pocket, biblical literature is ever putting
forth new attractions, expanding itself before you, like
a field whose surface yields the finest fruits, and whose
depths are stored with costly ores and gems. To explore it is a work worthy of a good share of any lifetime. After a-general acquaintance with the Bible, a
superficial reading will probably excite but little interest, but an earnest and daily study of it will move the
depest springs of thought and feeling in the soul.
In order to study it with success, some helps are desirable. Of these, the most necessary is a CONCORDANCE, which saves much useless labor in finding
passages, only one word of which may be accurately
remembered. Next to this in importance is a Commentary, or book of explanatory and practical notes.
In aids of this sort, for general use, our religious literature has always been rather poor. There are numerous
commentaries adapted to the student's closet, or the library of the parish minister, but few there are which




208           THE FAMILY LIBRARY.
present those clear, brief statements of the sense of a
passage, so much needed by the family circle or the
general reader. MATTHEW HENRY and DOCTOR SCOTT,
the most popular of all the writers of this class, are
excellent in their way, but it seems to have been their
design to lec'ure to us from a paragraph, rather than to
furnish those simple annotations which would give the
inquirer a clue to the meaning of the sacred text. In
many cases, therefore, where their help is most requisite, they yield us none. ADAM CLARKE was more
learned than either of these, and his work, as to its
plan, better realizes the true idea of a Commentary;
but he fails to adhere to sound principles of interpretation, and is often as fanciful as a Jewish Rabbi in his
views of the sense of his author. Dr. GILL, like Clarke,
is rich in learning, but for most readers is too voluminous; occupying much space in showing what a sentence does not mean, and illustrates too copiously from
Rabbinical authorities. Other authors might be named,
whose works are excellent as aids to the theological
student, or as suggestors of devotional and prac*ical
thought, but quite defective in that kind of elucidation desired by the generality of readers. Of late years,
a new class of commentaries have been issued, and
they mark the era of great improvement. To the Sabbath-school Institution belongs the honor of giving them
birth, for the weekly demands of some hundred thousands of Sabbath-school teachers, learning in order to
communicate, have been the occasion of their existence.
BARNES' Notes are constructed on a plan admirably
adapted to general use, and are most deserving of a




THE FAMILY LIBRARY.            209
place in a family library. It is to be hoped that in
due time they will embrace the whole of the Old, as
well as the New Testament. BUSH'S Commentary on
the Pentateuch is the best popular annotation on that
most ancient and important part of Scripture, and unaffected by those doubtful principles of interpretation
which appear in some of his later writings. RIPLEY
on the Gospels furnishes a fine specimen of sound criticism, but he is rather too concise. On the Acts of the
Apostles, however, the only inspired history of the
Christian Church, "Ripley's Notes" are the most perfect model of a popular commentary ever published,
being written in a beautifully transparent style, illuminating what is obscure, never trenching on the province of a sermon or lecture, and avoiding either
extreme of redundance or conciseness.
Now let any one peruse a few verses of the Scripture in regular order, day by day, availing himself of
the lights which such comments furnish,-let him reflect on the whole until he thoroughly penetrate the
meaning of the writer, withal devoutly asking Divine
assistance, and to him the Bible will never grow old, or
pall the sense, but will be ever fresh as if its leaves
had just been dropped from the skies, fragrant with
celestial dews, and bright with the inscriptions of a
seraph's pen.
II. The next portion of the Family Library which
claims attention is the
POLITICAL DEPARTMENT.
Of this division, there would be but slight incen18*




210          THE FAMILY LIBiRARY.
tives to speak at all in any country except America,
for nowhere else does every family embrace those
whose relations to their country involve such grave
responsibilities as men and citizens. Here only, the
people are really self-governed; here only, the high
and the low, the rich and the poor, possess equal weight
in the scale of political rule; who, then, can over-estimate the moral and religious responsibilities which
cluster around the head of him who has received the
boon of American citizenship? Although very few
volumes may suffice to answer the end of this department, yet these are quite indispensable. One or more
books developing the Constitution of the United States,
the structure and operations of the Government, should
be in the hands of every man who holds the right of
suffrage, or every woman who can influence those who
wield it.
Chief among this class of works stands STORY'S
COMMENTARIES ON THE CONSTITUTION. The original
publication was in three volumes; but there is a beautiful abridgment by the author, for the use of school
libraries and general readers. TOCQUEVILLE'S DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA exhibits many broad views and
profound lessons, deserving the study of every young
man. The same remark may justly be made of the
FEDERALIST, by HAMILTON, MADISON, and JAY, in
one volume. If any one, however, would fain satisfy
himself with a small book, as a manual of principles
and duties, he may obtain "YOUNG'S SCIENCE OF
GOVERNMENT," published at Rochester, New York.
SULLIVAN'S POLITICAL CLASS BOOK also contains a




TIE FAMILY LIBRARY.            211
great amount of information which ought to be more
widely diffused. And as it is evident that without
some knowledge of political economy, a people may
ignorantly oppose the very measures which would conduce to the public welfare, such books on that subject
as those of SAY, WAYLAND, and ADAM SMITH'S
Wealth of Nations, deserve a prominent place in a
plan of home-reading.  WAYLAND'S abridgment of
his Political Economy is a pocket volume for the
young, admirably adapted to its purpose.
A popular interest in the science of political economy is a clear sign of the progress of Christian civilization. It is remarked by Condorcet, and after him,
by Dugald Stewart, that in the sixteenth century the
science of political economy did not exist. Princes
estimated not the number of men, but of soldiers in the
state; finance was the art of plundering the people
without driving them to the desperation of revolt
and government paid no other attention to commerce
than that of loading it with faxes, of restricting it by
privileges, or of disputing for its monopoly. Similar
to this is a statement of Mr. Hume, "that there is
scarcely any ancient writer on politics who has made
mention of trade, nor was it ever considered an affair
of state until the seventeenth century." The celebrated
Dutch statesman, John DeWitt, was the first author
who ever published any thing of note on this subject
in connection with politics; and while in other lands it
is deemed sufficient if the rulers themselves understand
this subject, here, certainly, the knowvledge of its general principles should be almost universal.




212           THE FAMILY LIBRARY.
III.-THE THIRD CLASS OF BOOKS WHICH NOW
COMMEND THEMSELVES TO US, BELONG TO THE
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY.
After obtaining a general knowledge of the history
of our own country, such as is usually obtained in the
public schools, two courses propose themselves to our
choice. We can either read the history of those nations from which we sprang, then of those connected
with their origin, and so travel backward to the earliest times, or we can begin at once with ancient history
and come down by degrees to our own age. I far prefer the latter course; because it seems to me that thus
the events will be more naturally associated in the
order of time, and will be more at the command of the
memory. Some, however, choose the former, on account of its awakening, as they think, a deeper interest in the story. The historical course which I am
about to suggest, is the very shortest that I can think
of, as adapted to answer the end of an inquiring reader,
and yet, if well pursued, will enable one with advantage
to strike forth laterally in any direction whither his
curiosity may lead him.
The best beginning which one can make in this
department, is to select good compends, which, while
they map out the field of history, and show the extent
of the study, are yet composed with such graphic power
as to awaken an interest in the characters and fortunes
of men and of nations. A compend consisting of dry
details is very easily made, but it can be of very little
use to a beginner; to write a history of compendious




TRE FAMILY LIBRARY.                  213
brevity so as to throw a charm around the story, is a
work requiring the highest skill. Two authors have
done this successfully. The first is ROLLIN, whose ancient history of the Egyptians, Carthaginians, Assyrians,
Babylonians, Medes and Persians, and Greeks, is one
of the most beautiful offerings ever laid upon the shrine
of popular literature. The second is GOLDSMITH, whose
abridged history of Rome has the attractions of a romance. I have known nice critics who spoke lightly
of these works; but it was clear to me in every case,
that although their knowledge of particular periods
was accurate and minute, yet they were deficient themselves in that comprehensive knowledge of history
which they would have possessed, had they commenced their reading in the manner just mentioned.*
* Sometimes very just remarks which seem to depreciate Rollins'
history, are only intended to bear on those who are indisposed to go
beyond his work for information. Thus, Mr. Hume, writing to Dr.
Robertson on the difficulties in the way of any one's composing a
history of Greece successfully, makes this observation: "Besides,
Rollin is so well wrote with respect to style, that with superficial
people it passes for sufficient." This criticism, however, pays a
tacit compliment to Rollin's work, when viewed in the light of a
compend.
In this letter from which I have quoted, there is a remark of Mr,
Hume which furnishes an argument for the course which I am
recommending, of reading the translations of the old historians.
Hume is endeavoring to dissuade Robertson from risking his. reputation on a history of Greece, and says: " The ancient Greek history
has several recommendations, particularly the good authors from
which it must be drawn; but this same circumstance becomes an
objection, when more narrowly considered; for what can you do in
most places with these authors, but transcribe and translate them?
No letters or state-papers from which you could correct their errors,




214           THE FAMILY LIBRARY.
After mastering these compends, it is best to proceed at once to the writers whose works form the
sources of history, and who, from their proximity to
the characters and events which they describe, are
distinguished by a higher degree of life, spirit, and
naturalness, than can be found in any modern author
treating the same subjects. What though they have
not written in our own language? If we cannot read
the originals, why should we refuse to avail ourselves
of the translations? Who does not know that many
a traveller through Palestine, familiar from youth with
his English Bible, has found every hill and vale, every
lake, and stream, and tree, and shrub, most dear in its
associations, although he could not read one word of
Hebrew? By means of these versions we may transport ourselves to distant scenes, and feel ourselves to
be in companionship with men of ancient generations.
Instead, then, of consuming more time on modern
writers of ancient history, turn to the father of secular
history, and read HERODOTUS; then THUCYDIDES, on
the Peloponnesian war; XENOPHON'S Greek History,
and PoLYBIUs' History of the Greeks and Romans from
the commencement of the second Punic war to the
downfall of Perseus, the last king of Macedon. Follow
these with Lrvy, whose graphic power has never been
excelled; TACITUS, remarkable for conciseness; SALLUST'S History of the war with Jugurtha and Cataline's conspiracy, together with JULIUS CSESAR'S
or authenticate their narration, or supply their defects."-Dugald
Stewart's Life and Writings of Dr. Robertson, p. 121.




THE FAMILY LIBRARY.           215
Commentaries, or Journal of his Wars, which, by the
way, will be a capital introduction to the History of
France, England, Switzerland, and Germany. Good
English versions of these histories have long since been
given to the world, and the American public has received from the prolific press of the Harpers, pocket
editions of most or all of them.
Next to these, would properly come the European
history of a thousand years, which has been written with
success only by a man who has occasionally interwoven
somewhat of his subtle scepticism with the story, and
bearing the celebrated title, GIBBON'S History of the
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. It is a work
which could never have been written on this continent,
nor anywhere else, except in the neighborhood of
those immense old libraries which are the fountains of
historic knowledge. Its execution required a man of
learning and of fortune, and the command of twenty
years' leisure, all of which its author possessed. It
bridges over the chasm between ancient and modern
history, and enables us to pass with even pace and
with a continuity of impression, from the perusal of
the Roman to that of the English writers.
At this stage of the course, the reader may take up
with advantage, PRESCOTT'S history of Ferdinand and
Isabella, which presents a vivid picture of the state of
Europe in the age which was signalized by the discovery
of America. This should be followed by ROBERTSON'S
history of Charles V., Emperor of Germany, who
became heir to the crown of Spain, not omitting the
Introduction, which gives a broad and clear retrospect



216           THE FAMILY LIBRAini.
ive view of the condition of Europe. With a master's
hand Dr. Robertson has pictured forth the political
relations of the European kingdoms and states at the
opening of the sixteenth century. It is a great work,
and at first seemed to be attended with so many difficulties, that Mr. Hume, in a friendly correspondence,
urged the author not to undertake it; but, fortunately
for mankind, Dr. Robertson consulted his own judgment.
With the general knowledge of the Old World now
acquired, it may be well to study more minutely the
history of England, by reading, at first, GOLDSMITH'S
brief history, following it with KEIGHTLEY, or going
directly to HUME and SMOLLETT. The brilliant volumes of MACAULAY, however, will be read with a
keen zest by every one who is interested in those
periods of English history which have been illustrated
by his pictorial pen.
Of the history of France there is an excellent compend by Mrs. JAMIESON. GOODRICH'S Pictorial History of France will also answer well the purpose of a
compend. If it be practicable, it would be a good
economy of time, to read after the outline-history, the
article on France in the Encyclopcedia Britannica.
MICHELET'S history of France has, of late years, supplied an urgent want. A similar remark is applicable
to the history of the Revolution, by THIERS; and the
history of modern Europe by ALISON, notwithstanding
his high-toned, bigoted conservatism, cannot well be
spared from the historical department of a family
library. Every reader must learn to make due allow



THE FAMILY LIBRARY.            217
ance for the political, the religious, or the n'religious
prejudices of authors.
Time was when Asiatic history was almost entirely
neglected amongst us. But of late years, Turkey,
IIindostan, and China have been attracting anew the
attention of Europe and America. On this account,
such works as ROBERTSON'S India, GUTZLAFF'S China,
and MAVOR'S Ottoman Empire in Asia, deserve a
special mention.  A knowledge of the Old World
acquired in a course of reading projected somewhat in
this line of direction, will prepare one to approach with
a keen zest, and a power of just appreciation, the history of America.
In this department the best works are of recent origin, except ROBERTSON'S History of America, which is
beautifully written, and, with all its imperfections, will
amply repay a careful perusal. BANCROFT'S History
of the United States is not yet completed; but the six
volumes already issued must be always considered
as an indispensable part of an American's library,
however strongly he may dissent from some opinions
therein expressed. Far from being a mere summary
of events, it is the history of the leading ideas,-a
development of the mind and heart of a nation.
GRAHAME'S History of the United States from the
colonial settlements to the War of Independence is also
a valuable acquisition to the list of works on America;
although it contains several important errors.  The
author was a Scotchman by birth, but an American in
heart; and chiefly derived the materials of his history
neither from America nor from England, but from the
19




218           THE FAMILY LIBRARY.
libraries of Germany! It is a remarkable fact that
BOTTA, an Italian, has written the best history of the
American Revolution ever published. Had he been
acquainted with all the leaders of the war, had he been
an eye-witness of all its scenes, he could scarcely have
described them with more of vivacity and truthfulness.
His work has been translated by Geo. Alex. Otis, Esq.,
of Boston. It is a fine compliment which GRAHAME
has paid to BOTTA in saying that he had intended to
write the history of the American War, but that, on
reading the Italian's work, he had abandoned the project altogether.
In addition to these great works on the rise, progress,
and fall of nations, the family library should contain
some means of information on the subjects of Ecclesiastical History. If only one work can be afforded, and
that of the smaller class, I would unite with the Rev.
John Angell James in recommending JONES'S "History of the Christian Church from the Birth of Christ
to the Beginning of the Eighteenth Century." MoSHEIM'S Church History is a larger work, a standard
authority, and extensively read; yet it is written too
much in the style of a dry compend, and the narrative
is broken by the division into centuries. NEANDER'S
History of the Church is the greatest and the best production of the present age in this department. The
History of Christianity by MILMAN, one of the most
learned writers of the Church of England, is a work
composed with the highest skill, and comprises a vast
amount of information and of just reflection within a
narrow space. D'AUBIGNE'S History of the Reforma



THE FAMILY LIBRARY.            219
tion no reader in this department would be disposed
to omit; and in connection with it, one may profitably
read FATHER PAUL'S History of the Council of Trent,
which Bishop Burnet pronounced one of the finest
models of historic composition that the world- has seen.
To any one who shall be engaged in pursuing this
course of historical reading, Dr. TAYLOR'S Manual of
Ancient and Modern History* may be of immense
service in' presenting a panoramic view of the diversified scene which he is aiming to traverse; and he who
shall have pursued this course deliberately, will find that
all the parts of his historical knowledge are intimately
connected, and that they bear the impress of unity.
Such a knowledge of the civilized world will well
repay the labor that it costs; and, as we have wished
to reach it by one of the shortest paths, we have
forborne to name some of the noblest works in the
realm of History. These will present themselves to
the student's view as he advances. Let him, if he
please, notice the number of writers referred to by
Gibbon, Robertson, Prescott, and Bancroft, and he
will see how widely he may extend his researches.
And here, if conciseness, if condensation be earnestly
sought by the young reader, let me say to him with a
special emphasis, that whosoever shall thoroughly master the works of these four last-named writers-Gibbon,
Robertson, Prescott, Bancroft, may be fairly regarded
* An American edition has been published by Appleton, with a
chapter on the History of the United States, bx Rev. C. S. Henry,
D D.




220           THI  FAMILY LIBRARY
as a well-informed man, and will rarely, if ever, be at t
loss, or placed at a serious disadvantage, in the society
of highly learned and cultivated men. Brief as this
historical course may seem to some, he who does it justice practically will find himself able to trace the origin of nations, to revolve in his mind the great events
which have distinguished the annals of our race, to
mark the slow and sure development of a grand scheme
of Divine Providence, moving onward with majestic
force to some wondrous consummation; and if he be a
man of genuine Christian principle, while he deplores
the follies and the miseries of his species, he will be
incited to task himself the more earnestly for the promotion of that celestial kingdom which embraces within
itself the fortunes of humanity, and which, like the
little stone that the prophet saw come forth from the
mountain-side, is destined to gather new accessions of
grandeur, to crush all forms of opposition in its way,
and to fill the world with its enduring strength and
glory.
IV. The fourth class of books in our course of readins, belongs to the department of
BIOGRAPHY.
The late Dr. Arnold called history, according to his
view of what it ought to be, "the biography of a
nation." This is a good statement of the true aim of
history. And as a nation is composed of individuals,
it will be found that the biography of distinguished
persons represents in a great degree the life of a nation
or an age. It is true, there are some who live before




THE FAMILY LIBRARY.            221
their time; who, becoming possessed of some great
truth, unwelcome to their generation, feel themselves
impelled to become its heralds, to conquer as its champions, or die as its martyrs. Such an one was ARNOLD
OF BRESCIA, whose ashes were mingled with the waters
of the Tiber, for proclaiming as a Christian doctrine
the rightful separation of the government of the church
from that of the state; such men were COPERNICUS
and GALILEO, who were imprisoned for teaching the
revolution of the earth around the sun; such a man
was JOHN HUSS, who amidst the flames of death predicted the triumph of his cause. This class of men do
not represent their nation; they are prophets of the
future; they represent ideas, which, struggling for mastery, become the property of succeeding times. Biographies of the great, therefore, may be divided into two
classes: first, the memoirs of individuals who struggle
for some great truth against their age; the second
comprising memoirs of those who embody the spirit
of their age. To the first class belongs VAUGHN'S
LIFE OF WYCLIFFE, whose course on earth was a
contest for one glorious truth-the supremacy of God's
Word. The Life and Times of LUTHER and of MELANCTHON, who struggled for the great doctrine of
Justification by a living Faith instead of dead ceremonies; the Life of ROGER WILLIAMS, who embodied
the clear conception of the universal right of man to
religious liberty as an essential element of Christianity;
the lives of all those of whom the Church of England
in her service makes touching mention in those wellknown words, "the noble army of martyrs praise
19*




222           THE FAMILY LIBRARY.
thee!" To the second class belong The Life bf Cicero,
by Dr. MIDDLETON, a capital work; LAN CHORNE'S
Translation of Plutarch's Lives; Memoirs of Sully;
JOHNSON'S Lives of the Poets; BOSWELL'S Life of
Johnson; CARLYLE'S Life of Cromwell;* LORD
BROUGHAM'S Statesmen of the Reign of George III.;
SPARKS' American Biography; for these portray the
leading statesmen, scholars, orators, and poets, whose
names were potent with the world, and whose characters were impressed on the popular mind of their own
age. Such biographies are identified with the history
of mankind, and display at once the fortunes of the
race and the traits of individual history.
V. To the fifth department of our library we assign
BooKS OF TRAVELS.
The most important of this class are those which
have been written within our own times, or a comparatively recent period. For history and biography
exhibit to us the world as it has been; but we need a
knowledge of the world as it is now; and for this we
must resort to the accounts of those who have described
what they have seen. There never was an age so rich
as is the present in information of this kind; the speed
of communication, and the spirit of the missionary
enterprise, having combined to fulfil the ancient prediction, "many shall run to and fro, and knowledge
shall increase in the earth."
It is quite remarkable how much the writings of
* See Note A. Oliver Cromwell.




THE FAMILY LIBRARY.            223
missionaries have added to our stock of general information respecting the world at large. Their accounts,
too, are more to be relied on than were those of the
majority of travellers in former times. The readers
of their journals are somewhat in advance of the rest
of society in their knowledge of other nations. Of this
truth we have seen a practical illustration. A few
years since, the American Embassy to China, on re.
turning home, politely acknowledged its indebtedness
to Dr. Parker, a missionary of the American Board,
for the intelligence which he communicated, and for
his services as interpreter. The Secretary of Legation,
Fletcher Webster, Esq., favored the public in our principal cities with lectures on China. Those who had
opportunities of judging in the case were struck with
the observation, that to those portions of each audience
who were not familiar with missionary writings the
statements of the lecturer possessed an air of startling
and romantic novelty, while, on the other hand, those
accustomed to read their books and journals heard
little that astonished them, and could verify the assertions of the speaker.
To those who are about to become travellers themselves, it is generally known that the guide-book of
MADAME STARKE is the great repository of practical
information for European tourists. But it is not of
much service in one's library until he shall have used
it abroad; then it becomes richly associated with vivid
reminiscences.
But that knowledge of other lands which one may
advantageously obtain from books at home, can be




224          THE FAMILY LIBRARY.
found by consulting such authors as the following:
HENDERSON'S Biblical Researches and Travels in
Russla; BAIRD'S Northern Europe; STEVENS' Travels
in Greece, Turkey, Russia, and Poland-a book of
extraordinary ease and charm of manner; France, by
IENRY L. BULWER, M. P.; Spain, by Hon. CALEB
CUSHING; also a later work on Spain, by WALLIS;
BORROW'S Bible in Spain-one of the most fascinating
of books; FORSYTH'S Remarks on Italy; MARIANNE
BAILLIE'S Sketches of the Manners and Customs of
Portugal. On Asia, only a few books need be mentioned here. HOWARD MALCOM'S Travels in Hindustan, Malaya, Siam, and China, with a full account of
the Burman Empire, is a book possessing a well-established character for breadth and accuracy of observation. It has been hailed with a welcome from all
quarters. ABEEL'S Residence in China, GUTZLAFF'S
Voyages, Sir A. BURNES'S Travels up the Indus, FRAZER'S Journey across the Himalaya Mountains, and
WILSON'S Travels in the Holy Land, Egypt, &c., present a just and lively picture of Asiatic life as it is in
our own day.
On Africa, a most entertaining book is "The Lights
and Shadows of African History," in Peter Parley's
Cabinet Library. Let no one despise it because it is
gotten up in a style which addresses itself to the curiosity of youth. That little book, together with its
companions in the set, condense a vast amount of reading, and must have cost a great deal of labor.  A
larger, graver work is the Historical Account of Discoveries and Travels in Africa, fioom the earliest ages




THE FAMILY LIBRARY.           22 
to the present time, by HUGH MURRAY, Esq. 2 vols.
octavo. 1818. Mr. MOFFATT'S book on the African
Mission, with which he had been long connected, il
one of thrilling interest. SMITH and CHOULES'S h'Istory of Missions is, to some extent, a book of travels
in Africa, as well as other parts, and combines, in
many instances, the grate air of narrative with an attraction like that of romance. BAYARD TAYLOR, in
his late work on Africa, has made a valuable addition
to this department of literature.
GRUND'S Travels in the United States is one of
the best books of the sort on this country. LYELL'S
Book of Travels is the best specimen of just and lively
description by an English tourist, and CHEVALIER'S
Letters, published a dozen years ago, will enable an
American to see his own country from an intelligent
Frenchman's point of view.
STEVENS'S Travels in Central America is full of novel
incidents. MACGILLIVRAY'S Digest of Baron Humboldt's Travels, chiefly in South America, (Harpers'
edition,) is a work of rare excellence for the amount
of information condensed into a narrow space.
A general view of this department of our literature
at the present day, of the characters and objects of the
writers, will lead us to indulge a pleasing train of reflections, after reading the following remarks, which
fell more than half a century ago from the pen of Dr.
Johnson: " The Europeans have scarcely visited any
coast but to gratify avarice and extend corruption; to
arrogate dominion without right, and practise cruelty
without incentive. Much knowledge has been ac



226           THE FAMILY LIBRARY.
quired, and much cruelty been committed; the belief of
religion has been very little propagated, and its laws
have been outrageously and enormously violated; but
there is reason to hope that out of so much evil good
may some time be produced, and that the light of the
gospel will at last illuminate the sands of Africa, the
deserts of America, though its progress cannot but be
slow, when it is so much obstructed by the lives of
Christians."
VI. To the sixth class of books in the Family Library, belong
~WORKS OF IMAGINATION.
There is a fine critical remark of that splendid reviewer, Macaulay, which, though once it would have
been heard with a sneer, now expresses the opinion of
the world. It is this: "Though there were many clever men in England during the latter half of the seventeenth century, there were only two great creative
minds. One of those minds produced the Paradise
Lost, the other the Pilgrim's Progress."* A preceding
age, however, had seen one other such mind, whose
productions were chiefly dramas. In the realm of English literature, these three, SHAKSPEARE, MILTON, BUNYAN, are now enthroned as extraordinary beings, endowed with creative genius. They are a trio of
crowned heads. The brow of each is imperial.
Among works of imagination, then, the three productions just mentioned hold the first rank. So widely
* Edinburgh Review, No. CVIII., 1831. Last words of tho Review of Southey's edition of the Pilgrim's Progress.




THE FAMILY LIBRARY.            227
are they known, that the allusions of English literature cannot now be understood without our having
read them. Of Shakspeare, however, let it be said,
that he should be studied rather than read. With how
many is his name popular who do not understand him!
But one of the brightest signs of mental and social
progress which has appeared within a few years past,
is the fact that so many thousands prefer to read Shakspeare by the fireside, or listen to profound critical lectures upon his dramas, to seeing them represented in
action on a stage. How well worthy of notice is it,
that multitudes whom the theatre had ceased to charm,
have gone evening after evening to hear Mr. Hudson's
lectures on Shakspeare, and even to hear Shaksperean
readings. And undoubtedly it is true that the more
intelligent and refined a community become, the more
perfect and exalted will be their ideals of heroic character, the more impatient of a defective representation, the less dependent on the outward show and stir
of action for an impression of it, the better able to enjoy their own vivid conceptions which are awakened
by a calm and noiseless reading, the more in love with
that quiet mood of mind which brings one into communion with the spirit of a profound dramatic author,
who in his closet lived for awhile all absorbed in those
scenes which at last he pictured forth in plastic language, expressed in flowing verse, and made the printed
page seem radiant with a glory almost supernatural.
For the first reading of Milton, it would be well, if
possible, to procure an edition with DR. NEWTON'S
Notes, or JOHNSON'S, chiefly selected from Newton.




228           THE FAMILY LIBRARY.
SCOTT'S Notes on the Pilgrim's Progress are often atluable, and CHEEVER'S Lectures, lately published, is
worthy of its popularity. Dr. Johnson said that there
were only two or three books in the world that he had
wished longer, and of these the Pilgrim's Progress was
one. "It was by no common merit," says Macaulay,
"that the illiterate sectary extracted praise like this
from the most pedantic of critics and the most bigoted
of tories."
Beyond the place occupied by these three kingly
works, the domain of English poetry is very ample.
To the most cursory observer its productions would
seem to be enough to fill the space ordinarily assigned
to a family library. Numerous and varied as they are,
some may ask, How shall we select those best qualified
to claim our "Poet's Corner?" It might be difficult
in a few words or lines to give an answer to this question which the judgment of every reader would ratify;
but the two elegant volumes of RUFUS W. GRISWOLD,
on the Poets and Poetry of England and America,
containing those productions of each writer which exhibit his traits of character most advantageously, will
enable their possessor to survey at once the wide realm
of the English or American muse, and will supply him
with those pleasing contrasts which are adapted to cultivate his taste and to sharpen his powers of discrimination. A similar remark is applicable to CHAMBERS'
Cyclopsedia of English Literature, (Gould and Lincoln's edition,) which fills a wider space, embracing the
prose-writers as well as the poets, from the rude remains of Anglo-Saxon authors to the more polished




THE FxMILY LIBRARY.           229
works ul otir ox ai day. The brief historical notices
with vwhich these volumes abound, render them a valuable accession to our literature.
Although the study of English poetry is the most
important to us, as far as the end of poetry is concerned, yet the translations of foreign poets deserve a share
of our attention. The chief means of cultivating a
good poetic taste is the same as should be employed in
regard to painting, or any other sphere of art; that is,
comparison. English versions, therefore, of the Greek,
Roman, and Italian poets, will aid one much in attaining this object, and will also quicken our interest in
history, by bringing us closer to the daily life, the
homes and the hearts of the ancients. COWPER'S HOMER, POTTER'S IESCHYLUS AND EURIPIDES, DALE'S
SOPHOCLES, DR. FRANCIS'S HORACE, DRYDEN'S VIRGIL, and LUCAN'S PHARSALIA by ROWE, will well
repay a rapid glance or a closer inspection. The great
Italian poet, whose name is associated with Milton's,
may be readin CAREY'S translation; but a superior
version of the first ten cantos of DANTE has been made
by our young countryman, T. WV. PARSONS, of Boston. It were to be wished that he might be encouraged
and stimulated to complete what he has begun. PETRARCH'S ARIOSTO has been fairly translated by HOOLE,
and TAsso's JERUSALEM DELIVERED has been elegantly translated by FAIRFAX; and he who reads this
latter poem will be rewarded by high enjoyment as he
proceeds, and by the opportunity of judging for himself whether Dryden and Voltaire were right in pronouncing it the first epic of modern times.
20




230           THE FAMILY LIBRARY.
The mighty influence of poetry over the minds of
men, its power to quicken the higher faculties and the
finer sensibilities of the soul, has been universally acknowledged. In regard to the effects of prose fiction.
considered as a whole, there has been a difference of
opinion. Perhaps this may be accounted for by the
fact, that this latter kind of writing is so generally
looked at "in the gross;" and inasmuch as many
presses have incessantly teemed with that trashy, sentimental, sensual class of publications, which pass under
the name of " novels," these have often filled the whole
sphere of vision when one has been speaking of prose
fiction. But why should works of imagination, when
written in prose, be treated of in the mass, and judged
without discrimination, any more than when written in
verse? There have been poems as bad as novels, produced by, and addressed to, the same mental faculties
and susceptibilities. Are poems, therefore, to be condemned as such? Not all: but in regard to them, as
to many other things in this state of probation, we
must have "our senses exercised to discern both good
and evil." Works of imagination are founded on the
essential nature of man-have always existed, and
must exist for ever. And as long as the world contains so many idlers and loungers as it does, who resort
to a book for the same reason as they do to a play or
a game of cards, merely "to kill time," or for a sport
of fancy, there will be writers to cater for their diseased
appetites. But, just as the way to prevent or cure intoxication, is not to destroy all the alcohol or opium
from off the earth, but to cultivate right habits of self



THE FAMILY LIBRARY.            A/l
direction; so, the true way to guard aga.ir.,Mental
revelry, is, not to proscribe all works of im mination,
but to form a taste quick to discern between the precious and the vile; to " take the good, and cast the bad
away."
Without doubt, there is danger of abuse; but where
are we not liable to this? The first, the necessary evil
of a careless, indiscriminate reading of this class of
works, is well expressed in a single line by Hannah
More:
" They add fresh strength to what was strong before."
It destroys the mental balance, and gives to the imagination an undue predominance. Instead of acting in
harmony with the other faculties, and becoming auxiliary to their improvement and expansion, it usurps
their place, exhausts their energy, and smites them
with a sort of moral palsy. Sad havoc does it make
of the intellectual taste; for it sickens of all reality, and
craves only that which is analogous to the narcotics
and stimulants of the pampered epicure.
The real good to be derived from works of imagination is analogous to the benefit which we derive from
visiting a gallery of pictures from the hands of true
masters. These aid our conceptions of truth in the
world of nature and reality. He who has gazed on
such a work of art as Belshazzar's Feast, by Allston;
the Last Supper, by Da Vinci; or the Battle of Constantine, by Raphael, feels conscious of mental elevation, and blesses genius for having stooped to aid him,
for having brought the past and the distant near him,




232           THE FAMILY LIBRARY.
and enabled him to behold more clearly the scenes and
characters, the men and the events, of other lands and
ages. Thus, he who has pored over the pages of SIR
WALTER SCOTT'S KENILWORTH or PEVERIL OF THE
PEAK, where the actions of other times are presented
before him as in a lively panorama, experiences emotions of healthful pleasure akin to those which swell
the bosom of the traveller when he is ushered into the
scenes and associations of a foreign country where the
manners, customs, language, features, gait, and costume, of which he had but faintly conceived, are
around him as parts of the actual world and of real
life.
Never did an author universally popular apprehend
and reach the proper end of this class of writings, considered as works of art, like Sir Walter Scott. His
influence on the taste of the present generation has
been vast and salutary; a counterpoise to much that is
low and degrading in the realm of fiction, and a preventive of much that, but for him, would have been
encouraged to court the popular favor. However much
his political prejudices may have unduly tinged som
of his historical portraits, he is ever to be honored as a
benefactor of his race.
Having formed a clear idea of the true design of
works which belong to this department of literature,
any one may easily select for himself those which are
in accordance with it. It does not belong to my plan
to enumerate them here. Suffice it to say, that all of
JAMES'S historical romances, if found to be entertaining, will be very instructive; that DEFOE'S ROBINSON




THE FAMILY LIBRARY.           233
CRUSOE should be read as the author published it, and
not in an abridgment; that GOLDSMITH'S "Vicar of
Wakefield" should not be supplanted by any modern
work of its class; that "Happiness," by ANDREW
REED, D. D., is a good picture of true religion amidst
the snares of fashion; and that some of the leading
minds of the present day are more indebted for the religious bias of their characters to "Father Clement,"
than to all the volumes of learning and argument which
they had ever seen.
VII. A seventh division of the Family Library,
however small it may be, should be reserved for a few
works on
INTELLECTUAL AND MORAL PHILOSOPHY.
It is impossible to give an adequate idea of the worth
of this department to any one whose attention has not
been directed to it, or one who has experienced no benefit from it. I have known professional and practical
men who attributed their success in life, in a high degree, to the knowledge and the mental discipline acquired by reading carefully one or two books on these
subjects; and have received the most cordial thanks
from some whom I have urged to study at least a single work. A clear view of the faculties of the mind,
of what it is capable of accomplishing, of the prejudices to which it is liable, the mode of analyzing its
operations and governing it effectively, the errors to be
guarded against in its cultivation, the nature of reasoning, the limits of human knowledge, the grounds and
laws of belief, can not be too highly prized by any
class of men.
20*




234           THE FAMILY LIBRARY.
If time and circumstances allowed one but a single
book on intellectual philosophy, I should give PROFESSOR UPHAM'S Elements a decided preference. It is an
admirable map of the science. The references under
each chapter will aid the reader in pursuing any subject within its scope. Next to this I would take DuGALD STEWART'S Elements of Mental Philosophy. If
any one however should design a thorough study of
this department, he should begin with LOCKE'S ESSAY,
the first book, with twelve chapters of the second; for
hence have sprung the discussions which have employed the writers and the schools of Europe for the
last half century.
DUGALD STEWART'S Dissertation on the Progress of
Metaphysical, Ethical, and Political Philosophy since
the revival of learning in Europe, is worthy of being
obtained by any effort that it might require. It forms
the sixth volume of the Cambridge edition of his works.
WAYLAND'S Moral Philosophy is generally acknowledged to be the best treatise on this subject for the use
of a student.
VIII. To the last division of our library we refer
that class of writings which usually pass under the
name of " Miscellanies," embracing Essays, Discourses,
Dissertations, and Treatises on various subjects, and
which constitute the bulk of the English classics. For
the heads and representatives of these we must find
room. They touch all themes, and exhibit every
variety of style. Lord Bacon observes that treatises
require leisure; and that as of that he had but little,
he wrote essays. He adds, " The word is late, but the




THE FAMILY LIBRARY.           235
thing is ancient; for Seneca's Epistles to Lucilius, if
you mark them well, are but Essays, that is, dispersed
meditations, though conveyed in the form of epistles."
A similar remark may be applied to modern Reviews,
which appear in the form, now of an essay, like Channing's Milton, now of a dissertation or argumentative
discussion, and now again of a treatise or methodical
development of a subject. The productions of BACON,
ADDISON, JOHNSON, ROBERT HALL, JOHN FOSTER,
WAYLAND, MACAULAY, WILSON, IRVING, WILLIAMS,* and WHIPPLE,t are moulding character and
opinion wherever the English language has been understood. Other names are already associated with this
noble host; may many more arise to join them, to do
still better for the generations yet to come, and make
our English literature a blessing wide as the world and
enduring as the human race.
PLAN OF READING.
In addition to these suggestions on a course of reading, a few words on the plan of pursuing it may not
be amiss. There is good reason to believe that the
example of Dr. Johnson, who is often spoken of as
having been a great desultory reader, choosing his book
from impulse and accident, then laying it aside ere it
was finished, has had an injurious influence on the
mental habits of many a young man. Such a practice
might do very well for that renowned critic, who oc* See Note B. Literature of the Pulpit.
t See Note C. Whipple's Lectures.




236           THE FAMILY LIBRARY.
cupied an eminence whence the whole domain of literature lay spread out to his view; who had in his mind,
to use a common phrase, " a place for every thing, and
every thing in its place." By a cursory reading he
could easily take the bearings of an author, scan him
thoroughly, analyze, and classify him. Great as was
his genius, however, before he could do this, his reading had extended far beyond the limits of a family
library. His example therefore is not to be recommended to one who has not pursued such a course of
reading as will make him familiar with those standard
works which in relation to general knowledge, are to
be considered as initial and elementary. The young
reader may hope to see the day when he shall be able
to use and enjoy books as Dr. Johnson did; but to
begin at the outset to imitate his habits in this respect,
would be as unfortunate, though not as ridiculous, as
some writers have appeared to be, who, with little
practice, like dwarfs on stilts, have essayed to imitate
his style.
It is absolutely necessary for any one who would
gain available information, to read, for a while at least,
somewhat continuously. However short the time of
each day that he may be able to command, let him
read a few verses of the Scripture with such comments
as may explain or enforce its meaning. If he were not
disposed to do this from principle, as a Christian, yet
if he do it not at all, he will be greatly the loser as a
scholar.
Next, let him resolve to set apart for reading in
course a due proportion of the daily period which he




THE FAMILY LIBRARY.             237
can devote to works. Especially should this be done
within the department of history, and continued until
one has become possessed of clear and connected views
of the rise, progress, and succession of the leading
nations in the civilized world. At first, perhaps, the
attempt at regularity may be found irksome; nevertheless, let not the reader yield to impatience. Better,
if need be, that he should begin with only twenty
minutes a day, and pursue a course, than to read tenfold that amount in a desultory way. A little, well
understood, is worth more than much learned imperfectly: for in the former case the mind keeps wh!t it
gets, is enlivened and strengthened; in the latter, it
soon loses what it had found, becomes weak, confused,
and inert.
A book of reference, like the Encyclopoedia Americana, or the Penny Cyclopaedia, is quite necessary in
almost every kind of reading, but especially in the historical.* Next to that in importance, is Anthon's
Classical Dictionary; also his system of Ancient and
Mediaeval Geography. Blake's Biographical Dictionary
will be found useful in this connection. In perusing
the old historians, the names of people and of places with
which the reader is not familiar, should be sought out,
and their character, as well as their position, should be
understood. An Atlas with ancient and modern maps
is also a desirable accompaniment. In reading a book
like Caesar's Journal of his Wars in Gaul, the location
* The Encyclopaedia Britannica (Edinburgh edition) is the most
perfect work of the kind extant; but its cost places it beyond the
reach of the majority of readers.




238          THE FAMILY LIBRARY.
of the tribes of which he speaks should be ascertained.
In this way progress may sometimes be slow, but the
reward will be rich and lasting.
After reading the history of any particular period,
it is a good plan to peruse in connection with it, any
good work which may be properly called pictorial, giving a dramatic view of the characters of that time.
Shakspeare's Julius Caesar and Addison's Cato may
be read with zest even after the briefest history of the
downfall of the Roman Republic, and Scott's Kenilworth may profitably succeed an account of the reign
of Elizabeth. A similar remark will apply to books
of modern travels and researches. With the history
of Egypt in Rollin, or in Taylor's Manual, one may
well connect Mr. GLIDDoN'S recent pamphlet on that
country.
In commending these remarks to young readers, the
writer is emboldened by the conviction that the course
which is marked out in these pages embraces works of
standard character and of universal interest. However
great the number which may deserve to be added to
the list, it is pretty clear that few or none can be spared
from it. They are all like "the Everlasting Book"
wrought by an ingenious Italian, with leaves of asbestos
and letters of gold, suited to defy the ravages of time
and of all the elements. The number of volumes too
is larger than could be found in the University of
Oxford only four centuries ago. And few there are
who cannot command as much time as was then allowed
to a student for general reading: for in the statutes of
St. Mary's College, which was founded in 1446, was the




THE FAMILY LIBRARY.            239
following: "Let no scholar occupy a book in the library
above one hour, or two hours at most, so that others
be hindered from the use of the same." The aids to
reading which are now enjoyed in this country are
miracles of art; and " to use as not abusing" them, is
one of the first and highest duties of every Amerioan.
NOTE A.
OLIVER CROMWELL.
AMONG the interesting characteristics of the present
times is the progress of historical criticism. That
which passes under the name of history requires much
sifting in order to separate the wheat from the chaff.
This is a work that demands patience, and the great
men who have lived too far in advance of their own
age to be understood by their contemporaries, must
"bide their time."  Within the realm of history the
day of judgment comes in the present world, the
throne is set, the books are opened, sentence is pronounced, and the saying is verified, "there are first
that shall be last, and there are last that shall be first."
These remarks are illustrated in the case of Oliver
Cromwell who lived in this world to some purpose,
became the chief actor in the heroic age of England,
stood forth in his own times the champion of liberty,
the friend of the oppressed, the terror of tyrants, and
left a name that shall be familiar as a household word
to the lips of all generations. Like his friend Roger
Williams, the founder of Rhode Island, his views were




240           THE FAMILY LIBRARY.
too broad a: d magnanimous to be comprehended by
the men of his own time, so that those actions which
sprung from the highest motives have been attributed
to the worst and meanest which narrow minds could
devise. This heritage of obloquy has been shared too
by his most confidential companion, his Latin Secretary, the most splendid genius of English literature,
the "poor, blind schoolmaster, Milton," as he was
called by Waller, the courtly poet. These three men
of kindred spirit lived and acted with firm faith in
that soul-stirring and sublime sentiment, which came
from the heart and pen of Milton, in these memorable
words: "There will be one day a resurrection of
names and reputations, as certainly as of bodies."
Two centuries seera to be a long period for a maligned character to wait for its vindication. Justice
moves with " a leaden foot," slow, but sure; and in
the court of Historical Justice a century is as one day.
Those men are worthy of honor who appear in this
court as advocates of truth, defenders of those who
have been doomed, as was Christ in the High Priest's
palace, to be the victim of false testimony. In our
own age the life and opinions of Roger Williams have
found able expounders; Judge Story, Mr. Bancroft,
and others, also, have earned the thanks of mankind
for "bringing forth his righteousness to the light," and
in the cause of Cromwell, Thomas Carlyle, Dr. Price,
and Mr. Headley, with others whose names deserve
honorable mention, have performed those labors of
love which it required some degree of moral courage
to undertake, and which, leing done successfully, con



THE FAMILY LIBRARY.           241
stitute, on the whole, a heroic work. The men of the
past have been wont to associate the name of Cromwell with those of ambitious warriors and revolutionists; the men of the future will behold it shining in
that constellation of noble souls, who formed the: sacramental host" of civil and religious freedom.
NOTE B.
LITERATURE OF THE PULPIT.
IN the phrase which we have just written, we have
designated one of the noblest and mightiest agencies
which has been at work in modern times for the formation of the public character and the moulding of
popular opinion. Its very existence is an honor to
Christianity. We have old literatures of the heathen
ages; the literature of the Court, the School, and of
the Forum; but classic Heathendom has bequeathed
us no literature in which enlightened and cultivated
mind is found addressing itself to the great masses of
the people for purposes of moral and religious instruction. It has given us deep philosophies, entertaining
histories, soul-stirring orations, and immortal poems;
but the fire of its genius gleams out' in no order of
discourses designed to elevate and bless all classes of'
society-to bring Wisdom down from the skies to
talk with men on themes which concern alike the
scholar and the peasant, the monarch and the beggar.
It left the great multitude of mankind as " sheep without a shepherd." Between the philosophers and the
21




242          THE FAMILY LIBRARY.
people there was "a great gulf fixed;" eath' lass Lad
a different religion, and each despised the other.
But on that day when Jesus of Nazareth began his
work on earth, the scene was changed. He had sat at
the feet of no Aristotle or Gamaliel; he showed no
ambition to gain "fit audience from court or Sanhedrim; he counselled not with scholastic Rabbies, but
set it forth as the peculiar glory of his mission, that the
poor had the gospel preached to them. And the poor
intently listened to him; they thronged around him,
" they wondered at the gracious words which he spake;
and whether he stood on the pavement of Solomon's
porch, or on the deck of a boat that lay near the shore,
or made a mountain his pulpit, "the common people
heard him gladly;" for, he preached to them "as one
having authority, and not as the scribes."
Before our Lord left the world, he laid the foundation of a teaching ministry as a permanent institution;
and in doing so, he opened in his church the fountain
of that Pulpit Literature which has already gone forth
in many a branching stream to fertilize the moral
deserts of the earth, and which is destined yet to flow
abroad in richer abundance, until the last waste of
Paganism shall bloom as Eden. The words that are
spoken in any one age, by means of the pen and the
press become the heritage of all succeeding times. The
rugged, rocky knowl of Athens, called Mars' Hill, was
one of the pulpits of Paul; the discourse which he
uttered there is still going forth through the world on
its mission of love; and by it, he being dead, yet
speaketh, and will continue to speak to generations




THE FAMILY LIBRARY.             243
yet unborn. That discourse laid Revelation, Nature,
Art, and Poetry, under contribution for the attainment
of its end, and furnished a fine example of a scholar
making rich stores of learning yield their ministry to
the glory of the cross. The entrance of the CHRISTIAN
SERMON into the field of literary history marks a great
moral era, and the Christian church of any period has
reason to rejoice, if she find the Pulpit putting forth a
power which can cope with the errors of the age, and
adapted to meet her own demands for instruction in
the truth.
Dr. Williams's Miscellanies, his Sermons on the
Lord's Prayer, and on Religious Progress, have been
welcomed by many as a permanent addition to the
Christian literature of America. It contains discourses
called forth by various occasions, which have arisen
along the course of the author's ministry; bringing to
view, nevertheless, those great, universal principles
which suit all times alike, setting them forth in a style
of such beauty, grandeur and force, that we may safely
declare the book to be one of those which " posterity
will not willingly let die. " When Archbishop Leighton was asked why he did not, like others, preach "the
duties of the times," he replied, "if all the brethren
have preached on the times, may not one poor brother
be suffered to preach on eternity? We think, however,
that Dr. Williams has looked with a "single eye" at
both sides of the matter to which the question pointed,
and has preached, at once, both on eternity and the
times; irradiating the present by lights which beam
from revelations of the future, and drawing from the




241          THE FAMILY LIB.ARIY.
dread prospects which lie before us, motives that bear
rght well on the duties of the passing hour.
NOTE C.
WHIPPLE'S LECTURES.
IT is not often that we take up a book of Lectures
and read it straight through, spell-bound for successive
hours, as many remember to have been over the chapters of Macaulay's English history. Generally, we are
content, in perusing a volume of discourses, to take
one at a time; and it very seldom happens that an
address of any kind which is received with popular
applause from the lips of a speaker has equal power to
command attention when committed to the voiceless
page, even though it be helped by all the arts of typography. The orations of Edward Irving charmed the
ears of thousands, but they hardly found one reader
"' to do them reverence."
The lectures of Mr. Whipple, however, were not
only received with enthusiasm as they were addressed
by the author to the public ear, but have been greeted
by the eyes of thousands with a cordial welcome, have
engaged the reader's attention from first to last with an
unrelaxing energy, and fix their features in his memory
in lines not to be erased.
In the use of his powers as a lecturer, and a writer,
Mr. Whipple seems to be doing the work for which
he was born-for which nature and education have
qualified him. I-Ie moves serenely in the higher walks




TIE FAMILY LIBRARY.            245
of criticism. His step is firm without any air of arrogance. He sees clearly into the heart of things, tells
calmly what he sees, and tells it in a way that carries
conviction to the mind of the listener. Not only does
his glance reach to the core of the objects which he
judges, but around all the surfaces, however manysided; takes within its range both the grand and the
minute, and distinguishes at once the essential from
the accidental. He has a well-balanced combination
of faculties; uniting the power of observing facts with
that of broad generalization, keen intuition with logical analysis, strong memory with playful imagination,
a serious spirit with a quick susceptibility of the ludicrous, warm sympathies with a moral courage inspired
by love of truth, and a mental force which concentrates
all his energies at will to bear upon a single point.
These are elements of character which form a critic of
the highest order; and, whosoever brings all these
into healthy exercise, cannot be surpassed in his chosen
realm of literature unless by one in whom they act
with equal harmony, and a still higher degree of intensity.
But then, in perusing the works of Mr. Whipple,
we are struck with the view, not only of the developed
harmony of these elements, but also of the intensity of
their action. There is not only symmetrical movement,
but that movement is full of vitality. He has a heart
of fire whose pulsations are regulated by a calm intellect. Hence his writings abound in expressions that
are brilliant without glare, poetical without madness,
sarcastic without malignity, and strong without extra21*




246           THE FAMILY LIBRARY.
vagance. He has a complete mastery of language.
He can make words picture scenes as well as things.
His imagery is radiant with vivid colors, but we feel
at once that its glow is the refraction of nature's sunlight and not the effect of artificial tints.
These remarks are justified not only by Mr. Whipple's Lectures, but also by his Essays and Reviews,
published by the Appletons, in New York and Philadelphia. They will well repay the reader for all the
time he may bestow upon them, simply by their power
to encourage and stimulate independent thinking, to
lift the mind to a point, whence, as from a mountaineminence, it may survey wide landscapes in the realm
of thought, which take in both land and sea-forests,
fields, gardens, and arid deserts. In such surveys the
young student will prize the aid of one who " believes
and therefore speaks," who is possessed of a transcendental fancy wedded to Anglo-Saxon common-sense.




"HE THAT RTTLETH HIS SPIRIT IS BETTER THAN HE THAT
TAKETH A CITY."-Proverbs xvi. 82.
AMONG the fragments of biography which have
come down to us from the days of ancient Greece
there is a short story of one of the old philosophers
that has lighted up a smile on the features of many a
schoolboy, while he has been poring over the early
lessons of his classics. It is said that Diogenes was
seen traversing the market-place in open day with a
lighted lamp in his hand. On being asked what was
the object of his search, he replied, that he was seeking for a man. However heartily the traffickers, the
loungers, and the talkers of the Agora may have ridiculed this eccentric action, they must have felt the
point of the keen cynical satire; the veriest trifler
must have paused for a moment, at least, to have
turned his thoughts to the true idea of manliness, and
must have considered the truth that neither outward
form, nor garb, nor grace of manner, nor rank, nor
wealth, nor learning, were sufficient to constitute a
man.
We shall not attempt to discriminate with care the
(247)




248         THE SELF-GOVERNED MAN.
elements which in the Cynic's view were regarded as
essential to true manhood; but probably that radical
idea of power which inheres in the Anglo-Saxon term
from which our English word man is derived, was the
primary element of his conception. The aim of his
philosophy, like that of the Stoic, was to give to the
mind the mastery of the senses. His practical discipline was designed to subdue the appetites. A human
being ruled by the senses was deemed a mere brute.
But a set of healthy faculties under the guidance of an
enlightened mind-power swayed by reason-this was
the leading feature of that ideal standard of character
which he sought to realize. When this type of manhood reached its highest point of attainment, it had
risen superior to all outward things; it found all its
resources within itself; it had little need of material
wealth; it could look down upon kings; it was the
denizen of the universe. The grandest representation
of this mental royalty which pagan history furnishes,
was the philosopher of Sinope, who, while residing at
Corinth, being asked by the monarch of the world to
declare how he might serve him, replied, "Be pleased
just to stand a little out of my sunshine." No wonder
that the conqueror of empires then felt he had met his
match, and exclaimed, "If I were not Alexander, I
would be Diogenes."
This stern, lofty virtue of a refined speculative Paganism, lacked one essential element of true humanity,
viz., religious philanthropy. I speak of religious philanthropy in distinction from philanthropy as a blind
social instinct. Withoua a clear conception of God, as




THE SELF-GOVERNED MAN.           249
tt universal Father, combining in Himself all that is
venerable and lovely; of God as a Supreme Ruler
whose laws are sustained by the sanctions of Eternal
Majesty, a man can have no real dignity in the sight
of his fellow-man; he is the mere chance product of
an orphan universe, a transient atom floating in
boundless space; and then philanthropy can have no
real existence. The word itself may dwell familiarly
on the lips, but there is no heart to interpret its meaning; it belongs not to the scenes of actual life, but to
the realm of airy abstractions, of poetry or romance.
Hence, the virtue produced by the old philosophies
was proud and harsh, cold and repulsive; in a word,
it was selfish. All its aims, and all its motives,
sprang from  and terminated in self.  This defect
Christianity alone could remedy. To do this it was
fully adequate. It revealed a Messiah, who, though
divine, was nevertheless human; a perfect man; a man
in whose character love was the chief vital force, the
pervading grace, the crowning perfection. He stands
before us a being of majestic power; but that power
is ruled by wisdom, and that wisdom is united to godlike love. He breathes new life into our poor humanity; He lifts up the fallen soul; He touches the heart
of stone, and it beats with the pulsation of holy sympathy; He reconstructs the shattered character, and
every true disciple, newly created in His image, and
developed into fulness of stature, walks forth before
the world a self-governed man.
Is not such a character a worthy object of our search
and study?  Does it not far excel any other produc



250         THE SELF-GOVERNED MAN.
tion of God's handiwork? Wheresoever we behold
man of this sterling stamp, whether in the marble
palace or the thatched hut, in the camp or the shop,
in the senate-chamber or the counting-room, wielding the pen or the hammer, ploughing the deep
with his oaken keel or the land with his iron share,
clad in fine linen from a foreign loom, or in the
coarsest homespun from his own farm, we recognize his imperial brow, and yield him spontaneous
homage. We have sometimes seen that lovers of art
have crossed oceans and continents to behold what great
things have been wrought by the pencil or the chisel
of some master hand; and more than one poor student
who has fed on bread and water to obtain the means
of a journey to Rome has felt himself repaid for all
his toils when he has stood before the Apollo of the
Vatican. It is an object of thought that enlarges and
elevates the mind; and we may truthfully say of the
well-formed character, what the celebrated Abbe
Winckelmann said of the matchless statue: "Go and
study it, and if you see no peculiar beauty in it to
captivate you, go again; and if you still discern
nothing, go again, and again, and again; for be
assured it is there."
It is the sentiment of my text that self-government
implies the exercise of a moral power which is itself
the highest greatness. Let me ask you, therefore, to
proceed with me in directing our thoughts to the
nature of an effective self-government.
The FIRST point to be observed is, that it involves a
just conception of the object of life. From what wo




THE SELF-GOVERNED MAN.           251
have seen of the world, it is easy for us to conceive of
a young man blest with a noble and a gentle nature,
with the highest order of talents, a combination of
well-balanced faculties, a sound mind in a healthy
body, who, nevertheless, has never given a single
moment to the inquiry, What is the design of my existence? In such a case, what avail the most dazzling
gifts, or the finest opportunities of culture? He can
have no well-defined aim. He is the creature of accidents. He is like a racer who knows not the goal;
or a combatant who sees not his antagonist, but with
mighty force "beateth the air."  Who could behold
the richly freighted ship upon the deep, bound to no
port, drifting with every current, the sport of wind and
wave? Here let it be considered, that one great distinction of human nature is the capacity to form a clear
conception of the chief object of life, and to subordinate
to its attainment every element of our being. This is
the prime attribute of rationality; for it is left to mere
animals, impelled by instinct, to eat, drink, sleep, and
move hither and thither by blind, unanxious spontaneity. And yet, alas, we have known a pretentious
philosopher in the person of a bearded and mustachioed youth, fresh from the university, who, when
asked whether his chosen course of living would enable him to attain the true object of life, replied, " I
never ask myself so metaphysical a question; I follow
my nature, throw the reins upon the neck of the
animal, and go whither it leads me." He meant to
spend his ample income as a gentlemanly lounger in
traversing the whole circuit of the European capitals.




262         THE SELF-GOVERNED MAN.
This question, however, relating to the true object
of life, is one of more than ordinary pith and moment.
It meets us at every turn. To overlook it must be a
fatal mistake. An error in regard to it must vitiate
every process of reasoning, and cause every step of
one's course to deviate from a right line of direction. A
caustic remark of John Foster, on a certain class of Miss
Edgeworth's literary works-her Tales of Fashionable
Life-is quite relevant to the point before us. After
reminding his reader that this lady does not profess to
write for mere amusement, but for the high purpose of
moral teaching, and that she is therefore placed within
the reach of a much graver sort of criticism than would
at first view appear applicable to a writer of tales, he
says: "It is a grand point of incompetency, if an
author is totally ignorant of what the human race is
made for. And there appears nothing in the present
or such other of her works as we have happened to
look into, to prevent the surmise that this question
would completely baffle her. Reduce her to say what
human creatures were made for, and there would be
an end of her volubility." Be assured, O Friends, Miss
Edgeworth is not alone in this dilemma. Too often
have we seen the finest mastery of language, the most
charming grace of style, the keenest observation of
men and manners, the highest powers of graphical
description, even though wedded to great creative
genius, all lavished on the veriest trifles. What a spectacle  Powers that range but little below the angelic,
engrossed with nursery toys! If in a lunatic asylum
you should behold one of your own species, formed




THE SELF-GOVERNED MAN.          253
by nature to vie with a Washington, or a Wellington,
engaged with enthusiastic delight in building cardhouses, or discharging toy-guns, the sight would move
your pity; yet we need not go far to find the most
gifted minds, fitted to adorn any sphere of life, tasked
in the pursuit of airy nothings, deaf to all the voices
which call to us from the heights and depths of creation, and saying unto each and every one, Press
forward to the prize-so run as to obtain.
But I can readily imagine that some friendly reader
would fain interpose, and say, Dwell no longer on the
importance of the object, but, if you can, declare with
all simplicity what it is. Nay; but, O Reader! let
me not here assume to be thine oracle; rather will I
stand aside and let the great Master speak. The true
Messiah, the desire of nations, is revealed. I am come,
said he, a Light into the world. For this cause am I
come, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. In him,
were truth and love incarnated. In him Divine Wisdom
dwelt with men, and lived a human life. From him
came rays of celestial light, to interweave and incorporate themselves with the elements of humanity. "And
I, if I be lifted up," said he, " will draw all men unto
me." lie has become the grand attracting object of
the moral world. He is the Iead of a spiritual empire which is every moment extending its bounds.
Other empires have risen and passed away, but his
must increase; and, as said the exiled Emperor of
France on the rock of St. Helena, " He rules by love,
and at this hour millions of men would die for him."
22




254         TIE SELF-GOVERNED MAN.
Accept his chief gift-the boon of kingly grace; it is
salvation. Having accepted it, serve him with a heart
of gratitude, and "work out your salvation" in serving
him. Thus faith becomes developed in the whole sisterhood of virtues. To establish his moral kingdom
in the soul, to build it up, as we may, around us,
seeking its triumph over all the world-this is the chief
aim of a Christian man. This is an object which.
gives to life some worth, and impresses a real dignity
on the minutest actions that have a relation to it. This
is an object in the pursuit of which man carries with
him the favor of God and the sympathy of all heavenly intelligences. It is an object which demands
thought, feeling, inventiveness, and firm resolve; which
opens wide scope for all human wisdom and energy;
for the use of money, skill, science, influence, exertion; for every sort of talent or acquirement, and
for every element of lawful power. It is, therefore, the
object to which all human businesses should be made
to minister. To this Agriculture should bring its first
fruits, Commerce its first tributes, Art its highest
achievements, and all departments of life should not
only be subordinated to it, but animated and pervaded
by its principles and spirit. For a man to become
rooted and grounded in these truths, "to grow up into
them in all things," is to accomplish his proper lifework upon the earth, and to be preparing for an elevation to that higher sphere to which he shall be welcomed with the plaudit, " Well done; thou hast been
faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over
many things."




THE SELF-GOVERNED MAN.          255
In this connection, a SECOND leading truth demands
our notice: A wise self-government not only involves
a just conception of the main object of life, but also a
fit plan of action.
A just conception of the object is quite essential to
success. But it is not enough that the racer clearly
discern the goal; he must conform himself to a plan
of discipline that shall secure the subordination of his
faculties, appetites, and passions to his chosen end.
Just as, of old, he who hoped on the day of combat to
win the Olympian laurel, schooled his whole nature
into prompt obedience to his will by subjection to a
wholesome regimen. He did not despise theories, nor
sneer at general principles as mere abstractions. He
thoroughly studied them; but having mastered them,
practice was the word, and gymnastic exercises his
employment. Evidently, a young man may have before him a right ideal standard of character, a clear
and comprehensive view of his object, and yet fail
practically to realize it. He may dream away his life
in speculative reveries. He may become the sport of
fruitless imaginings. Neglecting the humble duty of
the present hour, he may be sighing for opportunities
of action. He may be saying within himself, If I were
only in this or that profession, if I had this or that
man's advantages, I might do my life-work worthily.
He may be indulging the erroneous sentiment that
occasions make the man; whereas great occasions cannot
come every day, and when they do arrive, the man for
them is already made.
Now a failure at either of these two points-a light




256         THE SELF-GOVERNED MAN.
conception of the object of life, or a well-adjusted
plan of action-may be equally fatal to ultimate success. Without the one, there will be no just and noble
aim; without the other, the noblest aim cannot be realized. You have seen men in whose honesty of purpose and in whose keen sensibility to honor you have
had uashaken confidence, ensnared and overcome by
some sudden temptation, entrapped and surprised into
the saying or doing of something which would defeat
their own deliberate intentions; like Lawrence Hyde,
the second son of the Chancellor Clarendon, and First
Lord of the Treasury under Charles I., of whom Macaulay says, "Very slight provocations sufficed to kindle his anger; and when he was angry, he said bitter
things which he forgot as soon as he was pacified, but
which others remembered many years: for nothing
was easier than to goad him into a passion; and from
the moment he went into a passion, he was at the
mercy of opponents far inferior to him in capacity."
Nevertheless, that man had many devoted friends,
and was in reality far more estimable than his celebrated associate in office, who was highly gifted with
the power of self-control, who could render every
faculty subordinate to his aim, even though that aim
were of the meanest order, and whose infamy the same
descriptive pen has made immortal.  "Godolphin,"
says the historian, "had been bred a page at Whitehall, and had early acquired all the flexibility and the
self-possession of a veteran courtier. He was laborious, clear-headed, and profoundly versed in the details
of finance. Every government, therefore, found him a




THE SELF-GOVERNED MAN.           257
useful servant; and there was nothing in his opinions
or his character which could prevent him from serving
any government."  " Sidney Godolphin," says Charles,
" is never in the way and never out of the way." This
pointed remark goes far to explain Godolphin's extraordinary success in life. "He acted at different times
with both the great parties, but he never shared in the
passions of either. Like most men of cautious temper
and prosperous fortunes, he had a strong disposition to
support whatever existed. He disliked revolutions;
and for the same reason for which he disliked revolutions, he disliked counter-revolutions. His deportment
was remarkably grave and reserved, but his personal
tastes were low and frivolous, and most of the time
which he could save from public business was spent
in racing, card-playing, and cock-fighting." Contrasted
examples like these of persons who have occupied
conspicuous spheres of action, clearly indicate, on the
one hand, that a man whose aim is comparatively
elevated sometimes fails of its attainment for the want
of a plan of life fitted to secure the right direction
of the elements of his power, and, on the other hand,
that a man gifted by nature with the finest faculty of
self-control may pursue the vilest objects with consummate skill, and may prostitute the most masterly executive talents to the highest bidder in those shambles
where Mammon trades in the souls of men.
This observation leads us to a THIRD important truth
relating to our subject, namely: that a vital religious
faith is an essential element of an effective plan of
action. In studying the history of those moral heroes
22*




258          THE SELF-GOVERNED MAN.
whose deeds have shaped the fortunes of the race, who
in the accomplishment of their undertakings have
coped successfully with great opposing craft and force,
who have passed unscathed through fiery ordeals and
spurned the most dazzling bribes held out to allure
them from their high career, an analysis of their characters ~has always shown that their strongest incentives
and supports were derived from the truths of religion.
As the truths were not apprehended by the senses, or
by intuition, but chiefly by faith in the Divine testimony, we say that religious faith is an essential element of an effective plan of life. There are times when
all propitious influences conspire to bear one onward
in his chosen course, and he moves as at the beck of
destiny; but there are also times which try the soul,
which search, test, and prove it, and discern "what
manner of spirit" rules within. There are times when
external aids all fail, when the Power of Darkness has
its hour, when temptations start up suddenly so as to
impel to instant decision, and the man is thrown back
on those interior principles that form the ground-work
of character. To the array of outward evils there can
be no counterpoise except in the motives furnished by
religion. Even Voltaire, heartless as he was, and prone
to mock at every thing sacred, had an intellectual eye,
keen enough to perceive the truth of this in relation to
the government of States, and therefore declared that
unless there be diffused among the people a prevailing
belief in an invisible and omniscient Power, taking
cognizance of secret as well as overt actions, a Power
to whom the darkness and the light were both alike.




THE SELF-GOVERNED MAN.            259
all law must become inefficacious. Now we affirm
that the principle which he was so willing to apply to
the body politic reaches farther still, and that while a
sound religious belief is essential to the existence of a
well-governed State, it is equally essential to the existence of a well-governed man.
Hence, whenever the religious faith of a people
becomes corrupt, whether it be through the want of a
healthy freedom, as is the case in Europe, or through
the abuse of freedom, as is too likely to be the case in
America, the foundations of private virtue become
sapped and undermined. This defect is brought to
light, first of all, in the infidelities and alienations that
mar the peace of domestic circles; then in the trickeries of trade which desecrate the intercourse of the
commercial community; next, in those startling crimes
of great defaulters which send thrills of agony through
all ranks of society; and finally, in the languor and
decay of the state itself. Pregnant with meaning in
illustration of this point, is a short paragraph from the
pen of Gibbon touching the decline and fall of the
Roman Empire: "In their writings and conversations
the philosophers of antiquity asserted the independent
dignity of reason, but they resigned their actions to
the commands of law and custom. Viewing with a
smile of pity and indulgence the various errors of the
vulgar, they diligently practised the ceremonies of their
fathers; devoutly frequented the temples of the gods;
and sometimes, condescending to act a part on the theatre
of superstition, they concealed the sentiments of an
atheist under the sacerdotal robes. Reasoners of such




260         THE SELF-GOVERNED MAN.
a temper were scarcely inclined to wrangle about their
respective modes of faith or worship. It was indifferent to them what shapes the folly of the multitude
might choose to assume; and they approached with
the same inward contempt and the same external
reverence the altars of the Lybian, the Olympian, or
the Capitoline Jupiter." In a state of public sentiment
which renders religion merely conventional, the manly
virtues can neve rflourish; and in the individual or the
community, the eclipse of faith will surely be followed
by the blight of every element of self-preserving power.
Now let it be observed that truly akin to this fashionable irreligion of the days of the Antonines is,
the fashionable irreligion of the nineteenth century
which aims to enrobe itself in forms of Christian philosophy, and which has already spoken to the cultivated
classes of American society from the pages of the
pamphlet and the magazine, the stately quarterly and
the elaborate volume, in lectures of the lyceum and in
discourses from the pulpit.  It inscribes the word
"progress" on its banner and its symbols. It would
repel with quiet scorn the imputation of atheism; nay,
it teaches that the universe itself is but Deity developed;
that He lives and moves in every thing that is; in all
matter, in all spirit; for all these and we ourselves are
but parts of Him. Therefore, every thing is good; all
matter, all spirit; evil is only good seen on the wrong
side; and just as carrion resolves itself into the bloom
and flower of vernal vegetation, so, by an eternal law
of progress, man, whether he be now found in the palace
or the prison, the church or the brothel, is moving




THE SELF-GOVERNED MAN.          261
forward to loftier and wider spheres of joyous existence.
This subtle theology furnishes such ample scope for
the adoration of natume under the name of God, for
eloquent tributes of homage to the Deity, and for the
poetry of devotion, that to many minds it has seemed
to be invested with an air of piety. But then, it so
thoroughly confounds the Creator with his works, God
with man, the holy with the vile, it looks so exclusively at God as a universal Cause and denies his
being as a Lawgiver, that it must practically erase
from the mind every feeling of accountability, and
must subvert, in the end, all distinction between right
and wrong, good and evil, the holy and the sinful.
This old oriental pantheism, this religious philosophy,
so long known in Europe as the theology of Spinosa,
has no aspect of novelty except that which invests it
from the circumstance of its being taught in New
England, christened with sacred names, adapted to the
apprehension of the common mind, couched in pithy
maxims, and wedded to the arts of poetry, music, and
song. But let this doctrine, which is already welcomed
in certain highly-cultivated circles, become prevalent
among the youth of this land, become inwrought with
the primary elements of their belief, so as to work itself
out in the formation of character, and then to cherish
the grave expectation of their standing forth a race of
self-governed men would be the " height of the ridiculous." A young man with such a theory of religion
may be familiar with all the practical wisdom of Solomon's Proverbs, with all the oracles of the Grecian




262         THE SELF-GOVERNED MAN.
sages, the terse lines of Lacon, and the sayings of
Poor Richard; but in the hour of temptation, in the
keen struggle with enticing forms of sin, these would
all fall asunder like threads of flax at touch of fire.
Instead of feeling the restraint of the divine law, and
schooling his passions into subjection to it, he would,
of necessity, in times of excitement, follow the lowest,
because they are the strongest impulses of his nature;
and throwing the reins upon the neck of appetite, would
swear that he was only obeying the Deity who lives
and rules within him. Thus would vice turn holy
" put religion on;" and to him, as to the young IRo
man who invoked the gods to be propitious to his
nights of lawless lust, the vilest crimes would be
invested with the sanctions of divinity. No form of
atheism could reach a more fatal issue; and it would
appear at last that the schools which nourish the
principles of this sort of transcendental philosophy
are, to use an expression of the Prophet Isaiah,
"hatching cockatrices' eggs;" hastening to produce
the vipers that fascinate the eye with their glittering colors, their fleet and graceful movements, but
whose touch is poison, and whose sting is mortal. Its
development might be slow, but it would be sure.
Like those seeds which, taken out of Egyptian mummies wherein they had lain two thousand years, when
planted in the earth took root and flowered, so, an erroneous principle in religion, though it may seem harmless while enwrapped with the bandages of old forms,
customs, and opinions, yet, falling at last in some genial
soil, will put forth its life, and produce " its vines which




THE SELF-GOVERNED MAN.         263
ate vines of Sodom, and its grapes which are grapes
of gall."
Young man, friend and brother  Although I am
a stranger to the incidents that make up your personal history; although I have no faculty of clairvoyance which enables me to penetrate the inner
chamber of your thoughts, yet I doubt not that could
I follow you to scenes of retirement, and listen to the
musings of your solitude, and daguerreotype upon
the tablet of memory the varying moods of your
spirit, I could hold up to your recognizing eye the impressions of many moments in which the ideal pictures
of a manly, Christian, and nobly self-governed character have detained your attention, have charmed your
imagination, and awakened the resolve to aim at their
realization in actual life. Now and then success has
seemed possible; perhaps easy. But experience has
made a mockery of your hopes. Defeat and failure
have brought over you a painful sense of impotence.
The remembrance of fruitless resolutions has fanned
the fires of remorse. Then you have been tempted to
bring down your ideal standard to the low level of
prevailing custom —to deny the possibility of Christian
virtue, to decline the contest with evil, to drift with the
current of fashion, and to be content with the amiable
but vain wish for a better state of things, in which the
syren-like temptations that beset your path shall have
been swept away from around you. It is not strange
if experience should already have taught you by its
rough handling in such a way as to qualify you to feel
the tremendous truthfulness to nature and to fact which




264        THE SELF-GOVERNED MAN.
quivered in the expression of one who, havir g unfolded to me the workings of his struggling heart, exclaimed, "If I were owner of a million sterling, and b)
laying it at your feet I could be transformed into a
true Christian, I would do it cheerfully; and yet, before to-morrow, I may be enticed away by two shillings' worth of sin I" Strange indeed would it be if
there were not many who can deeply sympathize with
this appalling sense of moral weakness.
Say now, whether, for a case like this, there may be
found on earth an adequate redeeming power? No
question that ever came from mortal lips can have a
more far - reaching practical significance than this.
How shall I frame my speech so as to impress the true
answer on every mind? I will not attempt to do it by
abstract propositions or formal arguments. Let me
cite an incident of biography which carries with it a
volume of illustration. In a garden at Milan, in the
year 372, amidst the bloom and fragrance of the opening spring, a young man might have been seen one
day reclining under a tree, his face bathed in tears, his
mind agonized with recollections of his wasted life.
Scenes of sensual revelry filled the whole retrospect of
bygone years. Crushed with a painful sense of selfdegradation, and of the utter impossibility of permanent reform, he deeply groaned in spirit. A youthful
voice reached his ear. Whence it came he knew not.
Whether the excitement of his own soul invested a
sudden thought with a power that made it seem vocal,
or whether it was one of those strange coincidences of
outward events which Divine Providence sometimes




THE SELF-GOVERNED MAN.          265
brings about, we cannot tell; but that voice uttered a
sentence apposite to his condition. It said, " Tolle,
lege; tolle, lege,"-Take and read; take and read.
That sentence brought to his remembrance a parchment roll that he had just held in his hand while in a
neighboring arbor. He hastened back, took up the
roll, and read the first lines that met his eye. That
roll was Paul's Epistle to the Romans; those lines were
what we now designate as the two closing verses of
the thirteenth chapter: " Let us, therefore, cast off the
works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and
in drunkenness; not in chambering and wantonness;
not in strife and envying; but put ye on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and make not provision for the flesh to fulfil
the lusts thereof." Those words were words of power.
They wounded and they healed. That hour was the
turning-point of a history, the commencement of a
glorious career. From that hour Augustine became
another man; for ten centuries his was the leading
name of Christendom; his works now form an important part of ancient literature, and through them, in
spite of many errors of opinion pertaining to his times,
he still keeps his hold upon the memories and affections
of the passing age. Where now lay the secret of this
illustrious change of character? Simply in the joyous
welcome with which faith hailed the revelation of a
personal Saviour-that divine Messiah who then arose
upon his delighted vision as the star of an eternal day.
Having thus exhibited the nature of self-government;
having shown that it requires a just conception of the
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266         THE SELF-GOVERNED MAN
true object of life, with a well-adjusted plan of action,
and that a vital Christian faith is an essential element
of such a plan, it may be proper now to suggest a few
hints bearing upon the realization of these ideas in
actual life. Apart from these principles, mere rules
and practical maxims must be all in vain. But if the
mind be impressed with the worth of these cardinal
truths, and if the heart be disposed to welcome them,
then all those hints in which are stored the wisdom of
experience may find ample scope and play, because
there is within the man himself a moral power that is
competent to apply them.
(1.) The first which I shall venture to suggest in this
connection is, that every one should learn to regard
with close attention and manly honesty his own faults
and weaknesses. This is a thing which is verily easily
said, but a thing very hard to accomplish. You have,
doubtless, seen many high-souled Christian men who
were incapable of a wicked deed, yet unconsciously
cherishing the most egregious faults. I have heard
one and another of this class of persons say with the
bland and winning tones of confidential friendship,
" Tell me of my faults;" but where is the friend who
will venture to affront your self-esteem by calling your
attention to what he knows to be a petted and protected
weakness? Ay; be assured that in the view of any
one who values your good-will this is rather a risky
business, and he fears that it will not pay. It is easy
to play about the surface of the character with light
and gentle touches, but no one can point out a real
fault without inflicting mental pain. It is impossible




THE SELF-GOVERNED MAN.           267
for you or me to do it for another "in good earnest,"
without a resolution as firm and energetic as that of the
surgeon who would straighten a crooked limb or set a
disjointed finger. But if the subject of such an operation regal I the blemish as a peculiar beauty, a wise
friend may find himself as much obliged to handle
charily the faults of the living as he is to " tread lightly
on the ashes of the dead." Self-love blinds us all, and
we naturally hate the pain of self-discipline. If you
have ever chanced to visit the studio of a successful
sculptor, it is likely that you have gazed with rapture
on some noble work still under the master's hand, and
have been enchanted with its loveliness of form, so that
it seemed as if the marble breathed; just as in years
gone by I have stood by Hiram Powers in his laboratory at Florence, watching the artist's movements while
he was dealing the finishing strokes on a work of
matchless beauty, and thought if the statue were endowed with sensation with what entreating tones it
would utter its appeal against these superfluous chisellings; but then, he who would attain a manly character, standing forth in well-poised and truthful symmetry, must learn to bear the edge of sharp rebuke,
and welcome the hand that would rasp it into those
fair proportions that will endure the scrutiny of friend
or foe.
(2.) Cultivate those simple tastes, those unostentatious personal qualities which are generally known by
the descriptive name of home-bred virtues, and which
always throw an abiding charm around the scenes of
domestic and social lift. They include those elements




268         THE SEI'-GOVERNED MAN.
of social excellence which the French designate by the
phrase " les petites morales." These relate not merely
to the government of the appetites and passions, but
of the tongue and the temper, the habitual expressions
of the countenance and the tones of voice, to modes
of speech and to courtesies of intercourse, which too
many despise as little things beneath their notice, but
which, nevertheless, sustain such important relations
to character and life as to verify the scriptural proverb,
"He that despiseth li+tle things shall fall by little and
little."
This rule implies the cultivation of a certain quality
which is an element of beauty in all things, namely,
simplicity; it inculcates simplicity of manners and
habits, style of living and personal appearance. On
the one hand, it would guard against the silly ambition of the young rowdy who affects coarseness and
vulgarity; on the other hand, it would guard against
the foolish vanity of the dandy who affects refinement,
and supposes that a fashionable tailor can impart all
that is essential to a gentleman. These two characters.
occupying opposite extremes in the social scale sustain
each other; just as we sometimes see that "rogues in
rags are kept in countenance by rogues in ruffles."
This cultivation of simple tastes implies the love of
substance and reality rather than of surface shows
and mere appearances. In some families you will find,
apparently, all the means of enjoyment accumulated
w'th unstinted munificence, and every thing that wealth
can furnish is made to minister to the attainment of
happiness: sculpture, painting, and the scientific arts




THE SELF-GOVERNED MAN.          269
have all been tasked to produce works of beauty; the
soft tones of the piano, harp, or guitar, court the ear;
but you will listen in vain for the music of the soul,
for the harmony of voices attuned to the utterance of
kindly aflections and truthful sentiments; in a word,
you look in vain for scenes glowing with the quiet
charms of a well-ordered horne. "This also is vanity
and vexation of spirit." Better is a dinner of herbs
in the lath and plaster cottage where truth and goodness reign, than the meat of stalled oxen in the lordly
mansion where there is no communing of kindred
souls and where hearts know no rest.
(3.) Let it be our aim to regulate our natural love
of excitement; to regulate it, I say, for it can never be
extirpated. And by regulating it, I mean the giving
it an active direction towards its proper objects. The
love of excitement is implanted by nature in almost
every sensitive being. Every thing that hath breath
finds a joyous excitement in the exercise of its active
powers.  Throughout the wide realm  of animated
nature there is a constant alternation of action and
repose; and there is no more interesting proof of the
benevolence of God in the physical universe, than may
be seen in the thrilling pleasures which all the lower
tribes experience in the employment of their faculties.
The little insect dancing through the sunny air, the
bee flying to find her food in the bosom of every flower,
the bird soaring to hail the morning with her song, the
lamb leaping sportively around the fold, the hound
bounding over the field at his master's call, the horse
whose neck is "clothed with thunder" pawing the
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270         THE SELF-GOVERNED MAN.
earth in the pride of his strength, all show that fine
susceptibility of excitement which springs from the
conscious joy of a sensitive nature.  The little child
also exhibits it before the intellect is at all developed;
and then, having added strength to strength, he tasks
his parent's mind to meet this demand by toys and
sports and projects of useful exercise.  If, with advancing years, his tastes can be rightly directed so
that they shall find gratification for this love of excitement in healthful pursuits, in the acquisitions of
literature and science, in an honest business, in honorable and improving associations, in promoting the
interests of religion and humanity, then it answers
its true design. Then, one may have by nature as
much of excitable energy, and as much of fondness for
society as distinguished a William Wilberforce or a
William Wirt, yet it will all be kept in healthy action,
and be made to subserve the aims of a useful life.
But, on the other hand, if this love of excitement have
rDo moral regulation, if it become the sport of accident,
and be left to its own wild and fitful moods, there is
no telling what course it may take or with what vile
objects it may be gratified. At any rate, it sweeps
away every thing that opposes it with the might of a
hurricane and mocks at the voice of reason. In savage
life, even before the white man carried the strong
alcohol, the Indian would seek relief from vacancy by
the inebriation of noxious weeds and by contriving
the most disgusting modes of intoxication. And here
amongst ourselves you may trace the operation of the
same principle, if at some time in the social haunts of




THE SELF-GOVERNED MAN.             I1
a country village or at a corner of the streets A the
great city, you will observe a group of boys who shall
have met to while away their evening hours; and after
their stock of news and stories have failed to gratify
their longing for excitement, see them move off to
some bar-room or saloon, just to draw from the intoxi
eating glass that hilarity which relieves the pain of a
vacant mind preying upon itself. Thenceforward their
moral ruin proceeds apace. The attachments of home
perish. Social life is prized chiefly because it feeds a
morbid love of excitement, and when that becomes the
peculiar charm and power of society, the most dissipated class will, ere long, be preferred, and by degrees
character will gravitate to the lowest abyss of degradation.
But thanks be to God   Notwithstanding the temptations that beset us, and the strength of our evil inclinations, the gospel reveals a remedy that is adapted to
all our moral wants. A childlike faith in that word
of everlasting life confers a power which puts a man in
possession of himself; enables his weak reason to
-break the fiery passions to the bit,
And, spite of their licentious sallies, keep
The radiant track of glory;
enables him to subordinate every element of his condition to the grand design of his creation, and to make
the great and the minute events of daily life minister
to his fitness for nobler realms of bliss, honor, and
immortality.