PLAIN LECTURE ASSOCIATION HUNTED FOR THE Boston ITnioti of ^ssoriationiots. BOSTON:. CROSBY & NICIIOLS. 1847. '.' ' Price 3 Gents. “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into bams: yet yonr heavenly Bather feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?”—“Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we cat ? or, What shall we drink ? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? Bor yonr heavenly Bather knowetlr that ye have need of all these things. Bnt seek ye first the kingdom of God and his right¬ eousness, and all these things shall be added nnto you.” Jescs Chkist. “ Jesns teaches ns that the trne wisdom, the discovery of the associative mechanism, is reserved for those upright minds who shun sophistry and study attraction. There remains then, without doubt, some more happy order of society to be discovered, since the Saviour so earnestly excites us to seek after it.” Charles Fourier. K LECTURE. We have met here this evening to discuss the subject of Association. But, as even the first principles of the science are very imperfectly understood by most of us, let a brief view be presented as a basis for the discussion that is to ensue. I. First, then, I would observe, that the object of this new form of society is not to cramp the exertions of its individual members, by subjecting them to some stereotyped, unalterable system of operations, whether devised by the original discov¬ erer, Fourier, or by those to whom the arrangement of a single Phalanx, or organized township, might be entrusted. No, in¬ deed. The grand object of the Combined Order is to enlarge individual freedom, not to subject it to additional shackles. From the exceedingly imperfect examples of union of effort presented by the Shakers and other communities, very many have been led into the idea that the individual wills of all the members of Association, like those of the Shakers, were to be completely lost, blended into one; that fixed forms and movements were to be laid down, by which all the members of the Phalanx should be bound to live, work, nay, even to think, and from which there would be no escape. But the very reverse of this is the true state of the case. In the present form of society, many circumstances conspire to deprive us of more or less of that liberty, after which it is so natural for all men earnestly to pant. Want of capital now deprives the great mass of mankind of freedom of choice A PLAIN' LECTURE 4 in possessions. "Want of education shuts ns out from the more desirable society; and, in rural life, the mere distances at which we are placed from each other, upon our isolated farms, hinder ns from enjoying most of the advantages even of that part of society which the low state of onr purse and our de¬ fective education have left us. In like manner are we depriv¬ ed of that choice and variety of food which is desirable; nay, may I not say, which is so essential to the health of man. "We are confined to the pork barrel, the potato bin, and the meal chest, for the greater part of the year. And, if we take into view the loathsome diseases of the skin generated by the former, independently of onr natural craving for variety of food, we shall readily see, that we do not, in this important respect, enjoy even a moderate degree of freedom, having only left the choice between this food and none. In respect to the important article of fruit, we are, if possible, in a still worse predicament. At present we cannot raise good fruit at all; or, at least, if we do raise it, we cannot expect to enjoy it. No fence will exclude the midnight robber. Indeed, it is hardly safe from depredators through the day. If we deter¬ mine to have our share of what has cost us so much labor and pains, it must be taken before it is fully ripe. Now or never! Wait one day longer, and it is highly probable that the whole will be swept from onr grasp. Other points might be noticed in which the present imper¬ fect arrangements of society deprive us of liberty of choice. But surely these are sufficient. If we lose, by the surround¬ ing circumstances, whatever these may be, onr choice of em¬ ployment and choice of society; if we are cramped in our education, have no means afforded us whereby our faculties may receive that full development for which God has fitted them; and if, in addition to this, we are actually deprived by existing arrangements of that choice and variety of food which our physical nature imperiously demands, surely wo ON ASSOCIATION. 5 cannot be said to live in a state of perfect freedom. True, we can always have Hobson’s choice, this or nothing. We can always enjoy the freedom of the poor Indian, to hunt, kill, or starve. But, as to genuine freedom, as to that sort of free¬ dom, after which all mankind, consciously or unconsciously, do assiduously and earnestly strive, the right to have our whole nature unfolded and perfected, by a complete and sound edu¬ cation in youth, by a choice of the best society at all periods, and by a free access to well-furnished libraries and a complete scientific apparatus; and finally, the right to an unrestrained choice of a profession; from this sort of freedom, every one must acknowledge that the great mass of our population are entirely excluded. Having thus shown how much the people are cribbed and cramped in the present state of society, let us now take a glance at Association, or the Combined Order. And, first, every child would have an unlimited choice of a profession. The capital is found by the Society, so that there can be no diflicultyon that score; every young man in the society is placed in an equally advantageous situation with a youth sur¬ rounded with friends, equally able and willing to assist him with capital wherewith to establish himself. Besides, as the greatest variety of employments are brought together, the youth would not only have means furnished, but, by personal inspection and trial, would have a full opportunity to ascertain what kind of employment would suit his inclination. With respect to other matters, the mode of living, and so forth, the same degree of unlimited freedom would exist. For example, suppose a mechanic should join the institution exclusively for the sake of the superior advantages of educa¬ tion for his children. And suppose farther, that both he and his wife should have such inveterate prejudices in favor of the wasteful, repugnant, monotonous manner of life in the present isolated households, as to be unwilling to join the 1 * A PLAIN LECTURE society in any thing hut their schools. What, I pray you, is there to prevent these foolish prejudices having their full swing? - If the lady insisted on wasting her time and talents on cooking and washing for her own family, shut up in her own rooms, instead of taking advantage of the machinery and arrangements and society of the Phalanx, the loss would be hers alone, and she would find no one, be assured, to meddle with or interrupt her. And if the husband should neglect or refuse the advantages of the machinery and combined labor, the loss also would fall on him alone. No one, surely, would trouble him; for one of the first principles of the Combined Order is perfect freedom of action in the individual members. But how long, think yon, would such foolish prejudices last ? If the parents were obstinately bent on their folly, their very ehildren-would ciy out against them. “ Why,, mother,” one of them would say, “what makes you live so differently from other people ? If you were to see how nicely the rest manage, you never would bring these dirty pots and kettles into your room again. And the washing and baking, mother: why do we have such hard, disagreeable work, when every body else gets it done by machinery ? ” The boys, on the other hand, would say to each other, “ When I get to be a man, I won’t do as father does, toiling here all day long by himself. I wonder how he can stay so lonely, when he sees every body else so lively and cheerful; not obliged to work much more than half the time too, and, whenever they get tired of one thing, changingto another. How glad I should be if he would only act like other folks 1” And then the little ones, too, when their mother was tired to death of the trouble of finding amusement and employment for them, would not they have a right to complain? “Mother, see! there are all the children with their working caps and aprons, going into the garden to weed, or may be into the field to gather leaves for the silk worms. See! they’ve a little band of music with them. And ON ASSOCIATION. 7 look here, too; they have the dogs harnessed to their little wagons. May’nt we go and help them, mother? Do let us go.” How long could such importunities be resisted, think you? Thus you may readily perceive, that there would be no occasion for any kind of compulsion in order to produce uni¬ formity in Association. For, independently of the immense economies and other advantages arising from well-organized and combined labor, there is an innate principle in man which strongly impels him to follow the example of those around him, as illustrated by fashion, and, indeed, by all our habits. II. The second important object of Association is to ren¬ der labor of all kinds attractive, by bestowing honor upon it in proportion to its usefulness. The very reverse of this takes place in the present form of society. The harder and the more necessary and important the work, the worse it is paid, and the less honor is attached to it. Honor, did I say ? The harder kinds of work are in general considered degrading. At our last meeting I mentioned a striking example of repug¬ nant labor being rendered attractive by the influence of num¬ bers, and by honor being attached to it, in the case of firemen. In that case, the hardest, most dangerous kind of work, with¬ out pay, is eagerly sought after. Another striking case ap¬ pears in the military spirit, so rife at present in a great part of our union. If the life,of a soldier were .not considered honorable and glorious, would our young men, think you, have rushed "into the field by tens of thousands ? If mankind con¬ sidered the art of butchering each other, of plundering and burning property, as degrading as they do the work of a scavenger (and surely it is a thousand times more so), would our youth now, do you think, be throwing away their lives or destroying their constitutions on the sickly shores of Mexico ? No, indeed. If the true ideas of honor and glory had been in¬ stilled into our youth — had they been attached to the work of A PLAIN LECTDEE usefulness in place of the work of destruction, we never should have plunged into this, or any other foolish war. It is sufficiently obvious, then, that the true way of making labor attractive is the method pointed out by writers on Asso¬ ciation, namely: 1. By performing it in pleasant company. 2. By allowing the utmost freedom and choice of occupation. 3. By shortening the hours of labor. 4. By providing sufficient variety of occupation. 5. Lastly and chiefly, by attaching honor to labor in direct proportion to its usefulness. IIL Speaking of the fals.e ideas respecting honor and gloiy leads me naturally to the third important object of Association, namely, a true, just, and complete education. This, I fear, never can be attained in the present form of society. "What is at present called education, namely, a little reading, writing, and cyphering, extended in a few to a knowl¬ edge of mathematics and the dead languages, is a mere sham and a cheat, a mere show instead of the substance. It has no pretensions to the name of education. If what is now badly, very badly done, were well done, it would still only be a mere preparation for education, not education itself. Man is possessed of noble, godlike powers. But these powers, like the germs of leaves and flowers in early spring, require to be unfolded, cherished, and brought into frequent and free action. With the greater part of mankind, they lie choked up, useless, during the whole course of their lives. “ Alas! ” cries Carlyle, “ while the body stands so broad and brawny, must the soul lie blinded, dwarfed, stupified, almost annihi¬ lated? Alas! was this, too, a breath of God; bestowed in heaven, but on earth never to be unfolded ? That there should one man die ignorant that had a capacity for knowledge, this I call a tragedy, were it to happen more than twenty times in the minute, as by some computations it does.” ON ASSOCIATION. But what is education then ? It is the unfolding and per¬ fecting those great powers of which I have spoken; the powers of intellect, of conscience, of love. It is not mere reading and writing. It is not merely to cram the memory with an undigested mass of facts. It is learning to perceive clearly, to discriminate keenly, to weigh evidence wisely, to seize on right means readily, to have presence of mind in difficulty, and above all, and beyond all, to form proper habits of thought and thence proper habits of action, and finally, an invincible love of truth. To give an instance of the impor¬ tance of proper habits of thought, what a precious thing it would have been for the world, had Napoleon received a pro¬ per education in this point of view! Had his powers received a right direction in early youth, what wonders might -he not have achieved, what a benefactor of mankind might he not have become! The sums expended in desolating Europe, and immolating hundreds of thousands at the bloody, insatiable altar of Ambition, would have converted France into a garden, and covered Europe with a net-work of railroads and canals. The same error in education which has produced such misery in the old world is equally prevalent here. Honor and glory, here, as well as everywhere else, are attached exclusively to the trade of human butchery. Men applaud with loud huzzas, women bestow their sweetest smiles, on the dazzling parades where expertness in the business of butch¬ ering is acquired; and our boys, before they are well out of their petticoats, take their first lessons in the same trade during the intermissions of study. See, for instance, that troop of boys rushing from the school-house! From the largest to the smallest, they instantly seize hold of each other, wrestling, snowballing, or pelting with sticks or stones. Mimic war is their chief delight; and, when their overflowing animal spirits are somewhat abated, what next ? Why, some 10 A PLAIN LEGTT5BE gambling game, to be sure; or an exercise of the tricks of trade; a barter of knives, toys, or books, in order that by practice they may acquire acuteness in the fraudulent arts of traffic. And all this is viewed smilingly by the community; and the natural, the unavoidable results of such a mischievous training are coolly attributed to the depravity of human nature, forsooth. We place our children in the midst of the most pernicious examples; and when they follow them, as we might be certain they would, we take no blame to ourselves, bnt throw the whole fault on the innate corruption of human¬ ity. Meanwhile the pulpit looks calmly on, hut not a word of reproof or advice is heard. Jts business is to cure evils, not to prevent them. The minister has got into precisely the same false position with the doctor. He has forgotten the proverb, that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Forgotten! did I say ? Alas! I fear the silence of the pulpit arises from a more blamable cause. Its favorite theory would he endangered, were it to allow that education had any hand in reforming the character. The worse the morals, the better the chance for regeneration, we are told. Are not many serious evils attributable to this most grievous error? - All these evils will be resolutely met in Association. One of its prime objects is sound and integral education, that is, education of the whole man. The chief training of the younger class, from the age of two to seveD, will be in the formation of just habits of thought, leading to just habits of action. The overflowing physical energies of this age will be directed to purposes of usefulness, not wasted, worse than wasted, as they now are, in exercises which can lead to nothing but wick¬ edness. Labor will be rendered attractive, honorable. Glory, renown, will he attached to no acts hut those which benefit mankind, the only acts which truly glorify God, Children will unconsciously, without prosing or lecturing, but by the ON ASSOCIATION. silent all-powerful influence of example and habit, be led to view useless or pernicious exercises in as repugnant a light as they now do useful ones. IV. “ But where are the means for these great improve¬ ments in education ? Such schools are not to be sustained without considerable funds.” The pecuniary means, I would answer,' will be derived from the vast economies of the system, being not only sufficient for the support'of the best of schools, but also to afford leisure for the whole society, and every lux¬ ury that may be desirable. I call the economies vast. If time permits, I will demonstrate them to your satisfaction in figures on the blackboard. Meanwhile I shall simply enumer¬ ate a few of them. The most complete number for a Phalanx is about two thousand persons, somewhat about the population of an ordinary town. That will be about three hundred families. Now, in the isolated state of society, such a popula¬ tion would of course require three hundred kitchens and three hundred cellars, with the same number of cooking stoves, and every variety of cooking utensils. In the Phalanx, one large cellar and one large kitchen, with five or six cooking ranges, and one-tenth of the quantity of cooking materials, will be an ample supply. In the three hundred kitchens there must be at least three hundred cooks and washerwomen. By the aid of machinery, one-tenth the number would be more than enough for both purposes, while at the same time the work would be ten times better done. The three hundred isolated families would require for each on an average from ten to fifteen cords of wood per annum, making in the whole from three to five thousand cords, and even then the dwellings are badly and unequally warmed. One thousand to fifteen hundred cords will abundantly heat the whole establishment, completely excluding frost from every room. In barns, stables, and so forth, although the improvements would be immense, the saving would be more than one-half; for a barn of four times 12 A PLAIN LECTURE the size would have nearly eight times the room. In horse and os teams, the saving would be nine-tenths; in fences, it would be nineteen-twentieths. In mercantile purchases, the saving would be one-half; for every thing would be bought on the large scale, and no allowance would be required for losses. In every article of consumption the saving would be great, since no time would be lost in looking for a purchaser, or making bargains: the Phalanx taking every thing as soon as complete. No time would be lost in going to mill or to the store, or on account either of bad weather or dull seasons. A locomotive steam engine, which can be made stationary in a few minutes, will plough,, harrow, mow, reap, thresh, cut fuel, wash, knead the dough, grind, and, when not wanted for any of these purposes, it will perform all the spinning and weaving of the community. In winter, a large number of rooms will be heated by steam from the same fire whicli does the cooking. With such savings as these, and with full em¬ ployment for all, in all weathers, and at all seasons, there can be no lack of ample funds for all legitimate purposes what- V. Perhaps the only objection to Association that has any degree of plausibility is that which is based on the discordancy of the human race, more especially of the female sex. Two families, it is said, cannot live in harmony. How, then, can three or four hundred? But, however plausible this argu¬ ment may appear at first sight, a very slight examination will show its fallacy. For though it may be difficult to harmonize two or three families, it by no means follows that similar occa¬ sions of discord will affect larger associations. Let us ex¬ amine the matter a little. Where two or three families live together, one perhaps prefers her bread well-baked, while the others like to see it white, without the slightest crust. One requires it warm; the others object to any but stale. One loves large loaves; another, the form of biscuit. One can eat ON ASSOCIATION. 13 none but what is raised with yeast; the others delight in milk emptyings. Similar discrepancies appear in the cooking of meats and vegetables; and, even if each mother cook for her own family, disagreements arise as to the time that she shall' use the stove. One wants a small fire to bake; another, a hot one to boil, stew, or fry; and, what is worst of all, each thinks she does an undue share in keeping every thing nice and clean. No such difficulties can arise in Association. The cooks are at work, not for themselves, but for the society. They have chosen this employment, because they are fond of it. They have a few men amongst them to do all the heavy work. They know there is a great variety of tastes, and they en¬ deavor to satisfy all. Moreover, if any one of them should take a little disgust, she can instantly change her employment, and thus change her society. In the afternoon, or the next day, she can vary her work to sewing shoes, or to weeding in the garden, to folding sheets for the bookbinder, or to attending on the silk worms, to millinery, mantua-making, or tailoring; and so on without end. No jealousies can arise as to one doing more than another. Every one is credited for the hours in which she is employed, and charged for her accommoda¬ tions ; so that one may work one or two hours in the day, or eight or ten, just as inclination prompts. Variety of em¬ ployment, short days’ work, in such society as we prefer, all the aids which machinery and the best of tools can afford, such are but a few of .the methods by which industry is to be made attractive, and harmony and unity of action secured. Association improves society by removing all occasions for bad feeling. It acts by preventing evil, not by the vain attempt to cure it. VI. The last point which I wish to present to the meeting is perhaps the most important point of all. This is emphati¬ cally the age of reform. Everywhere thinking men of all classes and conditions distinctly feel and acknowledge that 2 14 A PLADT LECTtTKE something is intrinsically wrong in the present structure of society; and numbers, vast numbers of earnest, intelligent, up¬ right men are anxiously striving to find a remedy for the evil. It is everywhere distinctly felt, that some serious ob¬ stacle stands in the way of carrying out, in their true spirit, the precepts of Christ. It is universally acknowledged, that hitherto there has been a sad failure in the practical part of the Christian religion; that men, yes, the best of men, cannot, as things are, love God supremely, and love their neighbors as themselves. The worship of Mammon has so entwined itself in the human heart, has so completely possessed itself of every fibre of the human frame, as to reduce the require¬ ments of the gospel to little more than a nullity. And so much and so universally is this the case, that the very idea of perfection, the very idea of the possibility of the best of us fulfilling the express commands of God, is hooted at as fanaticism. "What can be the cause of so strange a state of affairs? Can it be possible that God requires of man what it is impos¬ sible for him to perform? Or does it arise from an obstacle that is capable of being removed? Surely the former is a most outrageous supposition. Surely the God of justice and mercy would never lay a command on his creatures that it was impossible for them to fulfil. Is it not, then, man’s duty to examine more closely into this apparently strange anomaly ? Undoubtedly it must be. Now, though there is not time to do this fully here; yet, as the inquiry, as you will soon see, is intimately connected with our present subject, I trust you will excuse me if I throw out a few loose thoughts upon the matter. I have already adverted to the fact, of the general acknowl¬ edgment of imperfection and corruption in our present ar¬ rangements, as practically evinced by the variety of modes of seeking reform. Almost every conscientious man in the com- ON ASSOCIATION. 15 munity is engaged in one or more plans for the improvement of society. We have our Temperance and our Moral Reform Societies; our Anti-Slavery, our Peace, and our Prison Disci¬ pline Societies. In politics, we have our Whig, Democratic, and Liberty parties; and, in addition, our Native American and our Social Reform Societies. Now, all these associations, how¬ ever divergent may be their aims in some respects, have one es¬ sential point on which they all agree, namely, Reform; the abso¬ lute necessity of radical reform . Conservatism has complete¬ ly gone by the board. Change is called for by one and all ; and in all of these movements, as before observed, there are numerous active, intelligent, conscientious minds, who are earnestly engaged with the work in hand, who labor at it with heart and soul. But, unfortunately, these labors never can effect any permanent, essential good; for all are fragmentary, essentially incomplete in their very nature. They all look too much at the mere surface of things. None of them go deep enough. Not one of them strikes at the root of the matter. All are hacking and hewing at separate branches of the mighty overshadowing upas-tree, instead of uniting their energies to pull it up by the root. Any or all of them may succeed in these partial efforts; but, so long as the main trunk stands, there never can be safety for the body politic; there will always sooner or later be a fresh outbreak, possibly in a new place, or in a new form, but still retaining in substance what was vainly imagined to be totally destroyed. In order that this may be more distinctly seen, let us examine a little more closely a few of those fragmentary efforts. The object of the Society for Moral Reform is a noble one. It aims by moral means to diminish or destroy the grievous evil of seduction, especially in our cities, where it exists to a most alarming extent. But the most casual observer must surely see, that the evil lies far too deep to be erased by any such measures. Nothing can reach it that will not first give 16 PLAIN LECTURE to the whole community a sound and integral education, that is, an education which will not merely develope the intellectual powers of youth, but train them into proper habits of thought and action; and, secondly, secure to the female sex the right to labor, and a reasonable compensation therefor. So long as society is so constituted that the mass of the females are left helpless and dependent on the other sex for support, so long _ as the means of subsistence are not within the reach of all who are willing to labor, so long will thousands of the young and beautiful of the gentler sex be forced to lead a life of shame and misery. Moral motives can have little or no influ¬ ence, where the alternatives are ease and splendor on the one hand; nakedness and starvation on the other. Now, nothing hut Association can give that sound and full education for all, which the nature of the case requires. • Nothing but Association has even pretended to place the right to labor and the means of comfortable subsistence within the reach of all; and conse¬ quently nothing bnt Association can put an end to the cry¬ ing evil which the Moral Beform Society is established to remove. Again: the object of the Anti-Slavery Society is equally praiseworthy; but their measures must prove equally abortive with those of the Society for Moral Beform"; for they likewise can never reach, they make no efforts indeed to reach, the root of the evil. 'What is the cause of slavery ? Why is it that the masses, at all times and in all places, have been trampled on, been denied the rights common to the race, and forced to spend their lives in hard, repugnant, and poorly-reqnited labors ? It is all owing to the plain and simple feet, that mankind have been slow to discover the invaluable truth, that labor of every kind may be rendered attractive and honorable; that men can enjoy neither mental nor corporeal health without it; and that, if all were to perform their proper share, to perform indeed what is absolutely necessary for their well-being, no one need be required to labor a moment longer ON ASSOCIATION. 17 Ilian inclination prompted. This is the great problem that Association has worked out. This is what it designs to show by a living example to all mankind, namely, that it is practi¬ cable, nay easy, to give a sound and complete education, physi¬ cal, intellectual, and moral, to all mankind; that the masses can' be raised up from poverty, ignorance, and dependence, without detriment to any, but with immense advantage to all; that labor can be so organized as to afford attractive employ¬ ment and competence to all, with ample leisure for the full development of man’s whole nature, and the full enjoyment of society. And this is all that is necessary completely to abolish slavery of every kind. Train up youth with true ideas of honor and glory. Inspire them with a living faith in the great truth, that labor is honorable in direct proportion to its usefulness, and there will be no more occasion for slavery. It will instantly drop to the ground— dead as a stone. You would then have no more occasion for slaves to till your fields than you do now to perform your legislative, judicial, or mili¬ tary functions. But so long as the present false views of society exist, so long as youth drink in with their mother’s milk the false notion that any species of useful labor is degra¬ ding ; that the soft hand is more honorable than the hard one; so long will every one do his best to escape from work; so long will strength abuse its power, by forcing the many to toil for the few, either by the lash or by starvation. The Temperance Society is in precisely the same predica¬ ment with the other Societies that have been spoken of. This is rather a tender spot. But the truth must be spoken, though the heavens should fall.. The great temperance cause itself is but a fragmentary movement, and can never completely succeed, for the same reason that others will fail, namely, because it does not, cannot reach deep enough. This is not said in derogation of the movement. Far from it. All honor to its original projectors! All praise to its persevering, self- 18 A TLAIX LECTURE sacrificing supporters! It lias achieved an infinity of good, and will, I trust, do a great deal more. But it cannot finish the work. As in the somewhat similar case of the Liberty party, neither moral suasion nor political action, nor a union of both, can ever effectually root out the evil of intemperance. Man’s whole nature delights in stimulus; physical, intellectual, moral stimulus; and this love of excitement, like all other powerful desires, grows by what it feeds on. Even though king Alcohol should be killed and buried, banished so com¬ pletely from the face of the earth that there would be no danger of his ever appearing again, still appetite would crave, ingenuity would discover, and unenlightened men would in¬ dulge in, the excesses of intoxication. Let alcohol disappear, and the smoke of opium, or the inhalation of intoxicating gas, would take its place.® But king Alcohol cannot be killed. Neither the physician nor the mechanic can dispense with his ■ services; and, under the shadow of their wings, he will find his way into our dwellings, in spite of all preventive quarantine. No. Nothing can completely destroy intemperance save an integral education; an education which shall not only make every child familiar with the exquisitely delicate texture of * A late number of the London Times publishes a letter from a philan. thropic correspondent, denouncing a fatal habit which it seems has speedily sprang up in the Great Metropolis, of using the new agent of ether in the same way that the drag opium has been taken—for the purpose of pleasant exhilaration—to all intents, intoxication. This letter-writer remarks as follows: “Entering a chemist’s shop the other dav. I observed a nurse come in for four ounces of ether. As the chemist poured it out, he said to me, ‘ This is aH the eo now—it is used for inhalation.’ A small apparatus has been in¬ vented for ladies. So delightful are the sensations it produces, that persons who have used it for the relief of pain continue to use it for the pleasure it affords. On a former occasion I had warned a chemist of the danger of yieldins to a habit which would become his master. The warning was neg¬ lected—the habit has gained the mastery—and the man of talent and of energy has become the'imbecile, drivelling idiot.” So much for the debasing use to which the new agent may be applied. ON ASSOCIATION. 39 his body, but at the same time make him a whole man, the master of himself, a self-controlled, self-acting being. Is there any chance for this in the present structure of society? See what mighty efforts it takes to bring about a slight change in intellectual education alone, and judge whether it be possible to educate the whole mass completely, physically, intellectually, morally, while isolated as at present. No. To effect such a reform, we must have the most accomplished teachers for even our youngest classes; teachers who will devote themselves, body and soul, to the great task of purifying society; teachers who are not mere scholars, but who thoroughly understand man’s whole nature; teachers who will train up a child in the way he should go; teachers who will instil proper habits of thought, lead to proper habits of action; teachers who will know how to exclude the false notions of honor and glory which now almost universally prevail, and which are so ruinous to society; who shall know also how to inspire a taste for indus¬ try, economy, and order; teachers, finally, who shall infix in the minds of their pupils the true principles of Christianity — love to God, love to man, love and tenderness to all animated nature, and this in very deed, not merely in empty words, miscalled belief. I might now review, one by one, the other Societies that have been mentioned, and show the inadequacy of all to exe¬ cute them praiseworthy reforms. But enough has already been said, I believe, to convince you that one and all of them are fragmentary, and consequently radically defective. If ive would really reform society, w r e must not content ourselves with lopping the branches of the great upas-tree, to which the efforts of all these reformers are confined; for so long as the root and trunk remain, so long is there a danger that two shoots will appear ivhere one is cut off. But what is the root of all these evils which have called out the services of so many reformers ? It is nothing more than a defective educa- 20 A PLAIN LECTURE ON ASSOCIATION. tion, which leaves youth to the sway of unrestrained appetite, in place of bringing them under the guidance of habitual self- control, which leaves them always simply to inquire what is pleasant, instead of what is right. No education which fails to give the tastes and habits a true direction can be called a complete one. Nothing short of this will ever make a true jian. Nothing short of it will ever make a consistent Chris¬ tian. Without this, no one can ever be truly independent, safe. We shall always he liable to fall on the appearance of the slightest temptation. Now is there, the slightest hope that such an education can be procured for all in the present isolated form of society? It will scarcely he averred by the most sanguine. And, unless it he given to all, it must be inopera¬ tive : for the vicious example of those whom it does not reach will always be sufficient to deprave the good, and to render un¬ available all that the wisest and best of teachers and parents could effect. No. Nothing but Association can produce so great a blessing for all as a complete integral education. As¬ sociation, from the concentrated position of her votaries, and from the incalculable resources derived from her attractive industry and her immense economies, can alone hope to se¬ cure so desirable an object. T. C. P.